/ 


\ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/teachingsofpatri01chas_0 


TEACHINGS 


OF 


PATRIOTS  AND  STATESMEN ; 


OR,  THE 


“FOUNDERS  OF  THE  REPUBLIC” 

ON 


SLAVERY. 


By  EZRA  B.  CHASE,  Esq. 


“FIAT  JUSTITIA  ” 


PHILADELPHIA: 

J.  W BRADLEY,  48  N.  FOURTH  STREET. 
18  6 1. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1860,  by 
EZRA  B.  CHASE, 

la  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  and  for  tha 
Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

STEREOTYPED  BY  S.  A.  GEORGE, 
607  8ANSOM  STREET. 


nurriD  by  Kina  a baibb. 


u h 


h 


<A-e 


3 2 Q > 97  3 

CL  4.8  ? 


INTRODUCTORY. 


In  compiling  the  following  pages,  I have  not 
been  influenced  by  partisan  purposes ; neither 
have  I compiled  them  for  the  notoriety  of  having 
my  name  appended  to  a book.  The  country  is 
sufficiently  flooded  already  with  partisan  litera- 
ture— books  written  for  political  advantage,  or 
pecuniary  gain,  or  both.  To  such  authorship  I 
do  not  aspire.  If  I have  cherished  an  ambition 
in  reference  to  this  work,  it  has  been  an  ambition 
to  place  before  the  people  information  upon  the 
subject  that  is  now  agitating  the  country,  upon 
which  they  can  rely, — -the  views  and  opinions  of 
those  distinguished  patriots  and  statesmen  who 
formed  the  government,  and  whose  intentions  and 
principles  should  be  heeded  and  carried  out,  if 
we  would  preserve  it  from  disruption  and  decay. 
This  information,  or  most  of  it,  has  hitherto  beer 

(5) 


184653 


6 


INTRODUCTORY. 


locked  up  in  scores  of  huge  Congressional  vol- 
umes, entirely  inaccessible  to  the  general  mass  of 
readers  ; or  if,  by  chance  or  otherwise,  accessible, 
requiring  so  much  time  and  research  as  to  ren- 
der it  comparatively  valueless. 

I believe  the  most  that  the  people — the 
voters — of  this  country  desire,  in  reference  to  the 
question  of  slavery,  is,  to  know,  from  an  authentic 
source,  what  the  framers  of  the  Constitution 
meant  to  do  with  it ; what  relation  they  meant 
the  government  should  hold  to  the  institution, 
if  any  ; and  that,  knowing  this,  regardless  of 
the  selfishness  and  fanaticism  of  politicians,  north 
or  south,  east  or  west,  they  will  steadily  pursue 
the  path  marked  out  by  their  fathers,  and  per- 
petuate the  principles  of  Constitutional  liberty 
with  every  energy  and  effort  in  their  power. 

That  there  need  be  no  mistake  in  this  matter, 
I have  commenced  this  compilation  with  the  de- 
bates in  the  congress  of  the  confederation,  the 
first  form  of  a national  government  adopted  by 
the  colonies  after  the  declaration  of  independence. 
These  “Notes”  were  kept  by  Thomas  Jefferson. 
They  are  meagre,  it  is  true,  as  are  all  the  debates 
of  those  times,  for  stenography  was  then  un- 


INTRODUCTORY. 


I 


7 


known ; but  they  furnish  all,  as  well  as  the  best, 
lights  we  can  get,  of  the  opinions  of  the  states- 
men at  that  time.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
“Notes  ” relate  almost  exclusively  to  the  slavery 
question,  and  hence  we  may  conclude  that  then, 
as  now,  that  subject  w'as  one  of  difficulty  as  well 
as  delicacy.  I have  given  the  “Notes”  in  full, 
pro  and  con — I could  do  no  more  ; and  the 
reader  must  form  his  own  opinions, — mine  would 
be  superfluous. 

Passing  from  the  Articles  of  the  Confederation, 
I have  next  taken  up  the  Convention  to  form  the 
present  Constitution.  The  only  debates  preserved 
in  that  body  were  taken  by  Mr.  Madison  and 
Mr.  Yates  ; the  latter,  however,  left  the  Conven- 
tion before  its  adjournment,  and  hence  did  not 
take  them  fully.  I have  carefully  compiled,  from 
both  these  sources,  everything  that  was  said  and 
done  relating  to  slavery,  together  with  such  other 
matter  as  seemed  likely  to  be  of  interest  at  the 
present  time.  It  will  be  seen  that  here,  too, 
difficulties  wrere  presented,  that  for  a while 
seemed  likely  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  a 
union  of  the  States  on  their  present  basis;  but 
they  were  happily  arranged,  in  a spirit  of  mutual 


8 


INTKOPUCTOKY. 


concession  and  compromise,  upon  the  principle 
of  granting  such  powers  as  seemed  necessary  for 
the  good  of  the  whole,  specifically,  and  “ reserv- 
ing to  the  people  or  the  States,  respectively,”  all 
powers  not  granted.  These  debates,  too,  are 
meagre,  but  they  are  sufficient  to  give  the  intelli- 
gent reader  a clear  notion  of  the  intentions  of 
the  Convention,  and  what  powers  are  really 
granted  to  Congress  by  that  instrument  of  gov- 
ernment which  has  shed  so  much  happiness  upon 
our  beloved  country. 

Pursuing  the  same  purpose,  I have  next  taken 
up  the  conventions  of  the  several  States  to  ratify 
the  Constitution,  and  given  everything  relating 
to  the  subject  of  slavery  that  was  said  and  done 
in  them. 

In  some  of  these  States  the  debates  are  quite 
full ; in  others  but  mere  fragments  have  been  pre- 
served ; and  in  a few',  none  at  all.  I have  given 
everything  I could  find,  and  my  facilities  have 
not  been  very  limited,  upon  this  subject.  The 
construction  given  to  the  Constitution  by  the  wis« 
and  good  men  who  deliberated  upon  its  ratifica- 
tion, many  of  whom  had  taken  part  in  its  forma- 
tion, has  been  carefully  and  fully  noted.  I have 


INTRODUCTORY. 


9 


omitted  nothing  on  this  subject  within  the  scope 
of  an  ample  library,  and  long,  patient,  and  thor- 
ough investigation. 

Leaving  the  Constitution  at  the  period  of  its 
ratification  by  the  requisite  number  of  States,  I 
have  next  taken  up  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  im- 
portant in  the  history  of  the  country  as  contain- 
ing the  first  restriction  upon  the  spread  of  slavery 
ever  adopted  by  these  States,  although  it  was 
adopted  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  be- 
fore the  present  Constitution  was  framed  ; still, 
it  is  deemed  of  importance  at  the  present  day,  as 
furnishing  a precedent  for  the  prohibition  of 
slavery  in  the  Territories  by  the  general  govern- 
ment. This  chapter  was  compiled  by  Hon.  Peter 
Porce,  of  Washington,  from  original  documents, 
who  has  spent  a lifetime  in  compiling  the 
archives  of  the  government,  under  the  authority 
of  Congress.  It  is  unquestionably  the  only  au- 
thentic history  of  that  famous  ordinance  ever 
given  to  the  country ; and  I desire  here  to  ex- 
press to  the  great  American  compiler,  my  sincere 
thanks  for  his  courtesy  and  kindness  in  this 
behalf. 

Passing  from  this,  the  first  action  of  Congress 


10 


INTRODUCTORY. 


upon  the  subject  of  slavery  is  taken  up.  This 
occurred  in  1790,  the  first  Congress  that  assem- 
bled under  the  present  Constitution,  and  was  had 
upon  the  memorial  of  the  Pennsylvania  Abolition 
Society.  The  report  of  the  committee,  and  the 
final  action  of  Congress  upon  that  subject,  will 
he  found  in  this  chapter. 

The  Virginia  and  Kentucky  resolutions,  drawn 
by  Messrs.  Madison  and  Jefferson,  defining  the 
rights  and  powers  of  the  general  government 
and  the  States,  are  next  given. 

From  this  period  till  the  application  of  Mis- 
souri for  admission  into  the  Union,  in  1820,  the 
question  of  slavery  was  not  agitated  in  Congress 
to  any  considerable  extent.  This  was  the  first 
discussion  ever  had  in  that  body  on  the  power  of 
Congress  to  restrict  slavery  in  the  territories  of 
the  United  States.  A succinct  and  careful  his- 
tory of  the  difficulty  is  given,  together  with  ex- 
tracts from  the  speeches  of  the  most  prominent 
statesmen  of  that  time  who  participated  in  it, 
embracing  nearly  the  entire  speech  of  General 
Pinckney,  who  was  the  only  member  of  Congress, 
at  that  time,  who  was  a member  of  the  Conven- 
tion that  framed  the  Constitution.  In  this  con- 


INTRODl  CTORY. 


11 


nection,  also,  the  reader  will  find  the  opinions  of 
Mr.  Madison,  Mr,  Jefferson,  Mr.  Monroe,  Gen- 
eral Harrison,  and  others,  upon  the  power  of 
Congress  to  restrict  slavery  in  the  national  ter- 
ritories. 

From  this  period,  down  to  1854,  the  various 
phases  of  slavery  agitation  is  traced,  and  the 
Hews  of  Clay,  Calhoun,  Benton,  Cass,  Dickinson, 
Seward,  Marcy,  John  Quincy  Adams,  Silas 
Wright,  Daniel  Webster,  and  other  of  the  emi- 
nent statesmen  of  the  times,  of  both  political 
parties,  are  given.  A history  of  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  bill;  extracts  from  the  opinion  of  the 
court  in  the  Dred  Scott  case,  and  other  opinions 
of  the  courts  in  reference  to  slavery ; the  inau- 
gural addresses  of  Washington,  Adams,  Jefferson, 
and  Madison  ; and  the  farewell  addresses  of 
Washington  and  Jackson;  may  also  be  found. 

Since  1854,  the  Whig  party,  as  a national  or- 
ganization, has  ceased  to  exist,  and  the  Republi- 
can party,  organized  particularly  with  reference 
to  the  slavery  question,  has  taken  its  place.  I 
have  compiled  nothing  save  the  resolutions  of  the 
Presidential  conventions,  subsequent  to  that  pe- 
riod, for  the  reason  that  congressional  discussions 


12 


INTRODUCTORY. 


since  that  time  are  so  familiar  to  the  people,  that 
a synopsis,  within  the  scope  of  this  book,  must  be 

too  meagre  for  general  interest.  I have  en- 

* 

deavored  to  give  a fair  and  faithful  compilation 
of  the  views  and  opinions  of  the  eminent  states- 
men of  the  country,  of  both  parties,  from  the 
organization  of  the  government  to  1854,  while 
both  of  the  great  political  parties  were  organized 
upon  a basis  that  embraced  the  South  as  well  as 
the  North.  The  base  of  the  structure  is  laid  in 
the  organization  of  the  government  itself,  and 
the  views  of  the  men  who  framed  it.  Let  the 
reader  first  examine  well  the  base,  and  then,  step 
by  step,  ascend  to  the  summit,  examining,  as  he 
ascends,  the  best  lights  he  can  obtain,  and  then, 
like  a rational,  thinking,  independent  man,  form 
his  own  conclusions  with  reference  to  this  ques- 
tion, and  act  accordingly.  Keeping  in  view  the 
peace  and  welfare  of  the  country,  he  will  hardly 
act  amiss,  for  there  can  be  no  safer  guides  for  the 
present,  than  the  lights  and  precedents  of  the 
past. 

I can  hardly  expect  that  this  volume  will  es- 
cape partisan  censure  and  criticism.  Extremists, 
both  North  and  South,  I have  no  doubt,  will  con- 


INTRODUCTORY. 


13 


demn  it.  This  I cannot  help ; I only  ask  the 
reader  to  remember,  that  it  is  a compilation  of 
the  opinions  of  those  who  laid,  broad  and  deep, 
the  foundations  of  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
and  of  those  eminent  statesmen  who  succeeded 
them,  and  who  have  shed  a halo  of  fadeless  glory 
around  the  character  of  the  American  nation. 
If  I be  the  subject  of  reproach  for  the  compila- 
tion, what  would  be  meted  out  to  those  patriots 
and  sages,,  were  they  now  upon  earth,  and  should 
they  again  proclaim  the  doctrines  of  their  day 
and  generation!  It  is  not  I who  speak,  but 
rather  the  voice  of  the  immortal  dead,  a voice 
from  the  tombs  of  those  great  spirits,  who, 
through  the  perils  of  war  and  revolution,  estab- 
lished a government,  the  freest  and  the  happiest 
on  earth,  and  bequeathed  it  to  us.  Let  us  heed 
their  admonitions,  emulate  their  virtues,  and 
profit  by  their  examples. 

E.  B.  C. 

Wilkesbarre,  Penn.,  June  18,  1860. 


. 

. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

Occurrences  incident  to  the  Act  of  Confederation — Jefferson’s 
notes  of  the  debates  on  the  Confederation — Mr.  Chase’s  mo- 
tion in  reference  to  white  inhabitants— White  inhabitants” 
-Slaves- — Negroes  not  considered  members  of  the  State — - 
Mr.  Adams  on  the  same  subject — -Free  and  slave  labor  con- 
trasted— Mr.  Harrison’s  compromise,  that  two  slaves  should 
be  counted  as  one  freeman,  and  remarks  thereon — Mr.  Wilson 
against  slavery- — Mr.  Payne’s  remarks  — Dr  Witherspoon 
against  tax  on  slaves — Mr.  Chase  on  the  subject  of  each 
eolony  having  one  vote  in  Congress — Dr.  Franklin,  Dr.  With- 
erspoon, Mr.  Adams,  Dr.  Rush,  Mr.  Hopkins,  Mr.  Wilson,  on 
the  same  subject — Ratification,  and  the  Articles  of  Confede- 
ration  Page  21-43. 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  causes  which  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Constitution  and 
wherein  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  deficient  for  the 
purpose  of  a government,  by  Mr.  Madison — Appointment  of 
delegates  to  form  a Constitution — Organization  of  the  con- 
vention— Resolutions  of  Mr.  Randolph,  which  became  the 
basis  of  the  Constitution — Mr.  Madison,  on  the  equality  of 
suffrage — Speech  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  advocating  mo- 
narchical government ; also  plan  of  government  submitted  by 
him — Discussion  continued — Angry  discussion  between  Mr. 
Madison,  Mr.  Martin,  and  others — Dr.  Franklin  proposes 
prayer  at  the  opening  of  the  session — His  remarks  thereon — 
Mr.  Randolph  proposes  a sermon  on  the  4th  of  July — Pro- 

05) 


16 


CONTENTS. 


position  to  adjourn  sine  die — Discussion  continued — Report 
of  committee  on  the  construction  of  Congress — Three-fifths 
slaves  included  in  representation — Concession  of  the  smal1' 
States  that  the  House  should  originate  all  money  bills,  in 
consideration  that  they  should  have  an  equal  representation 
in  the  Senate — Debate  thereon — Mr.  Madison’s  compromise — 
Further  debate  on  slave  representation,  and  vote — Debate 
on  equality  of  votes  in  the  Senate — Report  of  the  Committee 
of  the  whole  House  on  Mr.  Randolph’s  resolutions — The 
resolutions  as  reported — Mr.  Rutledge’s  report  from  the  com- 
mittee of  detail — Discussion  thereon  by  Mr.  Madison,  Dr 
Franklin,  and  others — Mr.  Madison’s  proposition  to  give 
Congress  power  to  institute  temporary  governments  for  the 
territories — Lengthy  debate  on  slavery  and  the  slave  trade— • 
Mr.  Madison’s  proposition  to  give  Congress  power  to  in- 
stitute territorial  governments  struck  out — Mr.  Livingston’s 
report  on  the  importation  of  slaves — Discussion  and  vote 
thereon — Fugitive  slaves — “Needful  rules  and  regulations 
respecting  the  territory,”  etc. — Report  of  the  Constitution  by 
the  committee  of  revision — The  Constitution  as  reported  and 
adopted— Official  letter  to  Congress — Articles  of  amendment 
— When  adopted Page  44-114. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Debates  in  the  convention  of  Massachusetts — Rev.  Mr.  Backus, 
on  the  religious  test,  and  the  importation  of  slaves — Mr. 
Dawes’  remarks  on  slaves,  and  importation  of — Gen.  Heath, 
ditto  ; his  remarks  on  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion— Mr.  King’s  remarks  on  representation  and  taxation — 
Debate  in  the  convention  of  the  State  of  New  York — Mr, 
Hamilton’s  remarks  on  navigation,  commerce,  and  slave  rep- 
resentation— Debate  in  the  convention  of  the  State  of  Con- 
necticut— Mr.  Ellsworth’s  remarks  on  the  necessity  of  a Union, 
and  the  consequences  of  disunion — Debate  in  the  convention 
of  Virginia. — Objections  to  the  Constitution  answered  by  Mr. 
Nicholas — Powers  of  the  government — Mr.  Mason  in  op- 
position to  the  slave  trade — Mr.  Madison  on  the  same  ; and 
in  reference  to  fugitive  slaves — He  prefers  union  with  slavery 
to  disunion  without  it — Mr.  Tyler  against  the  slave  trade — 


CONTENTS. 


17 


Patrick  Henry  on  the  powers  of  Congress — Fugitive  slaves — 
Mr.  Nicholas  on  slavery — Mr.  Henry  replies— Three-fifths  of 
the  negroes  represented — Mr.  Mason  on  negro  taxes — Mr. 
Madison’s  reply — Mr.  Henry  against  emancipation — Gov. 
Randolph  on  the  same  subject — Debate  in  the  convention 
of  North  Carolina — Mr.  Goudy  against  negro  taxation — 
Negroes  property — Mr.  Davie — Mr.  Spaight  explains  the 
views  of  the  Federal  Convention — Mr.  Iredell  on  slavery  and 
the  slave  trade — Mr.  Galloway,  Mr.  Iredell  and  others,  con- 
tinue the  discussion — Debate  in  the  convention  of  South 
Carolina — Mr.  Lowndes  on  slavery  and  the  slave  trade — 
Judge  Pendleton,  Mr.  Rutledge,  and  Mr.  Pinckney,  on  the 
same  subject Page  115-154. 


CHAPTER  IY. 

History  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  by  Peter  Force,  Esq.,  com- 
piler of  the  American  Archives,  by  authority  of  Con- 
gress  Page  155-178 


CHAPTER  Y. 

Memorial  of  the  Pennsylvania  Abolition  Society  to  Congress  on 
the  slave  trade,  and  proceedings  thereon,  1790.. Pape  179-183 

CHAPTER  YI. 

Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolutions  of  1798,  drawn  by  Messrs. 
Madison  and  Jefferson Page  184-194. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Missouri  question  in  Congress,  1820 — Slavery  restriction 
offered  by  Mr.  Storrs,  of  New  York — Mr.  Meiggs  opposed — 
Mr.  Holmes’  speech  on — Mr.  Smyth,  Mr.  Reid,  Mr.  Scott, 
Mr.  Tucker,  and  Mr.  Stevens  on — Col.  Richard  M.  Johnson 
in  the  Senate  on — Mr.  Pinckney,  a member  of  the  Federal 
Convention  that  framed  the  Constitution,  on  the  power  of 
Congress  to  restrict  slavery — Mr.  Whiteman,  Mr.  Shaw,  Mr. 
Holmes,  and  Mr.  Barber,  on  the  same  subject — Ex- 
tracts  Page  195-282. 


18 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Extracts  from  a letter  from  Mr.  Madison  to  President  Monroe, 
on  the  Missouri  restriction — Same  in  reply  to  Mr.  Monroe — 
Mr.  Madison  on  the  Ordinance  of  1787— Draft  of  a veto  by 
Mr.  Monroe  on  the  bill  establishing  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise line — Extracts  from  several  letters  of  Mr.  Jefferson  on 
the  Missouri  restriction — Extract  from  a letter  of  Gen. 
Harrison  (afterward  President)  to  Mr.  Monroe  on  the  same 
subject Page  283-292. 


CHAPTER  IX 

Fugitive  slaves — Ordinance  of  1787 — The  Constitution — Act 
of  1793 — Letters  of  Messrs.  Marcy  and  Seward  in  favor  of 
allowing  owners  to  hold  slaves  nine  months  in  the  State  of 
New  York Page  293-306. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  in  1831,  1835,  and  1836 — 
Remarks  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  Silas  Wright,  and  James 
Buchanan  on — Mr.  Benton’s  views Page  307-320. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

■Agitation  of  slavery  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  1839, 
and  retiring  of  Southern  members  from  the  hall — “ The  Gag- 
Rule,”  and  vote  thereon — Extract  from  Mr.  Clay’s  speech  in 
the  Senate Page  321-348. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Resolution  of  Mr.  Calhoun  in  1847,  and  remarks  on,  Extract — 
Extract  from.  Mr.  Calhoun’s  speech  in  1848 — Resolution  of 
Daniel  S.  Dickinson,  and  remarks  thereon,  Extract,  1848 — 
Extracts  from  the  speeches  of  Henry  Clay,  Daniel  Webster, 
John  C.  Calhoun,  Gen.  Cass,  and  Gen.  Houston,  of  the 
Senate,  on  the  Compromise  Resolutions  of  Mr.  Clay,  in  1859 
— Also  Extracts  from  the  speeches  of  Mr.  Tombs,  of  Georgia, 
Mr.  Butler  and  Mr.  Ross,  of  Pennsylvania,  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  on  the  same  subject — Also  Extract  from 
“Southern  Address.” Page  349-387. 


CONTENTS. 


19 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Dred  Scott  decision — Extracts  from  the  opinions  of  the 
Court— Extract  from  the  opinion  of  the  Pennsylvania  Su- 
preme Court  in  1837,  that  a negro  cannot  be  a citizen — Prigg 
vs.  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  by  Judge  Story, 
Extract Page  388-408. 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

Inaugural  Addresses  of  Washington,  Adams,  Jefferson,  and 
Madison,  and  the  Farewell  Addresses  of  Washington  and 
Jackson Page  409-480. 


CHAPTER  XY. 

Repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  and  organization  of  the 
Territories  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  in  1854..  .Page  481-487. 

CHAPTER  XYI. 

National  Conventions — Platforms  of  the  various  parties  on  the 
subject  of  slavery,  from  1848  to  1860 Page  488-495. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  ARTICLES  OP  CONFEDERATION. 

Previous  to  the  adoption  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, steps  for  the  formation  of  a confederated  govern- 
ment, by  and  between  the  colonies,  were  taken.  A common 
danger  seems  to  have  impressed  them  with  the  necessity  of 
a union  for  the  common  defense.  On  the  11th  of  June, 
1776,  some  three  weeks  prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  Decla- 
ration, a committee  of  one  from  each  colony  was  raised  for 
the  purpose  of  preparing  a plan  of  government.  The  com- 
mittee soon  after  made  a report,  but  it  was  not  finally 
adopted  by  Congress  till  the  15th  of  November,  17  17. 

It  was  at  the  same  time  resolved  by  Congress  that  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  as  they  were  called,  should  be 
presented  to  the  legislature  of  each  colony  ; and,  if  ratified, 
then  their  Delegates  in  Congress  should,  in  that  body,  ap- 
prove the  same.  The  colonies  seem  to  have  been  singularly 
tardy  in  ratifying  the  articles.  They  were  not  ratified  by 
Maryland  till  the  30th  of  January,  1781  ; New  Jersey  and 
Delaware  also  withheld  their  consent  till  some  time  during 
the  year  1779  ; and  it  was  not  till  after  a circular-letter  by 
Congress  had  been  sent  to  the  legislatures  of  the  several 
colonies,  appealing  in  the  most  patriotic  terms  to  their 
love  of  country  and  to  their  sense  of  common  danger,  that 
the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  adopted  by  the  whole 
of  the  thirteen  colonies.  From  that  time  they  took  the 
name  of  States,  a name  more  sovereign  and  independent  in 
signification.  They  were  no  longer  colonies — dependencies 
of  Great  Britain. 


(21) 


22 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


JEFFERSON’S  NOTES  OF  DEBATE  ON  CON- 
FEDERATION. 

On  Friday,  July  12,  1777,  the  committee  appointed  to 
draw  the  Articles  of  Confederation  reported  them,  and  on 
the  22d,  the  house  resolved  themselves  into  a committee  to 
take  them  into  consideration.  On  the  30th  and  31st  of  that 
month,  and  1st  of  the  ensuing,  those  articles  were  debated 
which  determined  the  proportion  or  quota  of  money  which 
each  State  should  furnish  to  the  common  treasury,  and  the 
manner  of  voting  in  Congress.  The  first  of  these  articles 
was  expressed,  in  the  original  draft,  in  these  words : 

“Art.  XI.  All  charges  of  war,  and  all  other  expenses 
that  shall  be  incurred  for  the  common  defense  or  general 
welfare,  and  allowed  by  the  United  States  assembled,  shall 
be  defrayed  out  of  a common  treasury,  which  shall  be  sup- 
plied by  the  several  colonies  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  inhabitants  of  every  age,  sex,  and  quality,  except  Indians 
not  pajing  taxes,  in  each  colony — a true  account  of  which, 
distinguishing  the  white  inhabitants,  shall  be  triennially 
taken,  and  transmitted  to  the  Assembly  of  the  United  States.” 

, Mr.  Chase  moved  that  the  quotas  should  be  fixed,  not 
by  the  number  of  inhabitants  of  every  condition,  but  by  that 
of  the  “ white  inhabitants.”  He  admitted  that  taxation 
should  be  always  in  proportion  to  property  ; that  this  was, 
in  theory,  the  true  rule  ; but  that,  from  a variety  of  difficul- 
ties, it  was  a rule  which  could  never  be  adopted  in  practice. 
The  value  of  the  property  in  every  State  could  never  be 
estimated  justly  and  equally.  Some  other  measures  for  the 
wealth  of  the  State  must  therefore  be  devised,  some  standard 
referred  to,  which  would  be  more  simple.  He  considered 
the  number  of  inhabitants  as  a tolerably  good  criterion  of 
property,  and  that  this  might  always  be  obtained.  He 
therefore  thought  it  the  best  mode  which  we  could  adopt, 
with  one  exception  only ; he  observed  that  negroes  are 
property,  and  as  such,  cauuot  be  distinguished  from  the  lands 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


23 


or  personalties  held  in  those  States  where  there  are  few 
slaves;  that  the  surplus  of  profit  which  a Northern  farmer 
is  able  to  lay  by,  he  invests  in  cattle,  horses,  &c.,  whereas 
a Southern  farmer  lays  out  the  same  surplus  in  slaves.  There 
is  no  more  reason,  therefore,  for  taxing  the  Southern  States 
on  the  farmer’s  head,  and  on  his  slave’s  head,  than  the  North- 
ern ones  on  their  farmer’s  heads  and  the  heads  of  their  cattle ; 
that  the  method  proposed  would  therefore  tax  the  Southern 
States  according  to  their  numbers  and  their  wealth  con- 
junctly,  while  the  Northern  would  be  taxed  on  numbers 
only  ; that  negroes,  in  fact,  should  not  be  considered  as 
members  of  the  State  more  than  cattle,  and  that  they  have 
no  more  interest  in  it. 

Mr.  John  Adams  observed,  that  the  numbers  of  people 
are  taken,  by  this  Article,  as  an  index  of  the  wealth  of  the 
State,  and  not  as  subjects  of  taxation  ; that,  as  to  this  mat- 
ter, it  was  of  no  consequence  by  what  name  you  called  your 
people,  whether  by  that  of  freemen  or  slaves  ; that  in  some 
countries,  the  laboring  poor  are  called  freemen , in  others 
they  are  called  slaves,  but  that  the  difference  as  to  the  State 
was  imaginary  only.  What  matters  it  whether  a landlord, 
employing  ten  laborers  on  his  farm,  give  them  annually  as 
much  money  as  will  buy  them  the  necessaries  of  life,  or  give 
them  those  necessaries  at  short  hand  ? The  ten  laborers 
add  as  much  wealth  to  the  State,  increase  its  exports  as 
much,  in  the  one  case  as  the  other.  Certainly  five  hundred 
freemen  produce  no  more  profits,  no  greater  surplus  for  the 
payment  of  taxes,  than  five  hundred  slaves.  Therefore,  the 
State  in  which  are  the  laborers  called  freemen  should  be 
taxed  no  more  than  that  in  which  are  those  called  slaves. 
Suppose,  by  an  extraordinary  operation  of  nature  or  of  law, 
one-half  the  laborers  of  a State  could,  in  the  course  of  one 
night,  be  transformed  into  slaves,  would  the  State  be  made 
the  poorer,  or  the  less  able  to  pay  taxes  ? That  the  con- 
dition of  the  laboring  poor  in  most  countries — that  of  the 


24 


ARTICLES  OF  CUNFELE RATION. 


fishermen,  particularly  of  the  Northern  States — is  as  abject 
as  that  of  slaves.  It  is  the  number  of  laborers  which  pro- 
duce the  surplus  for  taxation  ; and  numbers,  therefore,  in- 
discriminately, are  the  fair  index  to  wealth  ; that  it  is  the 
use  of  the  word  “ property”  here,  and  its  application  to 
some  of  the  people  of  the  State,  which  produce  the  fallacy. 
How  does  the  Southern  farmer  procure  slaves  ? Either  by 
importation,  or  by  purchase  from  his  neighbor.  If  he  im- 
ports a slave,  he  adds  one  to  the  number  of  laborers  in  his 
country,  and,  proportionably,  to  its  profits  and  ability  to 
pay  taxes.  If  he  buys  from  his  neighbor,  it  is  only  a trans- 
fer of  a laborer  from  one  farm  to  another,  which  does  not 
change  the  annual  produce  of  the  State,  and  therefore  should 
not  change  its  tax;  that  if  a Northern  farmer  works  ten 
laborers  on  his  farm,  he  can,  it  is  true,  invest  the  surplus  of 
ten  men’s  labor  in  cattle  ; but  so  may  the  Southern  farmer, 
working  ten  slaves  ; that  a State  of  one  hundred  thousand 
freemen  can  maintain  no  more  cattle  than  one  of  one  hundred 
thousand  slaves.  Therefore,  they  have  no  more  of  that  kind 
of  property.  That  a slave  may,  indeed,  from  the  custom  of 
speech,  be  more  properly  called  the  wealth  of  his  master, 
than  the  free  laborer  might  be  called  the  wealth  of  his  em- 
ployers ; but  as  to  the  State,  both  were  equally  its  wealth, 
and  should  therefore  equally  add  to  the  quota  of  its  tax. 

Mr.  Harrison  proposed,  as  a compromise,  that  two 
slaves  should  be  counted  as  one  freeman.  He  affirmed  that 
slaves  did  not  do  as  much  work  as  freemen,  and  doubted  if 
two  effected  more  than  one  ; that  this  was  proved  by  the 
price  of  labor — the  hire  of  a laborer  in  the  Southern  colo- 
nies being  from  £8  to  £12,  while  in  the  Northern  it  was 
generally  £24. 

Mr.  Wilson  said  that,  if  this  amendment  should  take 
place,  the  Southern  colonies  would  have  all  the  benefit  of 
slaves,  whilst  the  Northern  ones  would  bear  the  burden  ; 
that  slaves  increase  the  profits  of  a State,  which  the 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


25 


Southern  States  mean  to  take  to  themselves  ; that  they  also 
increase  the  burden  of  defense,  which  would  of  course  fall 
so  much  the  heavier  on  the  Northern  ; that  slaves  occupy 
the  places  of  freemen,  and  eat  their  food.  Dismiss  your 
slaves,  and  freemen  will  take  their  places.  It  is  our  duty 
to  lay  every  discouragement  on  the  importation  of  slaves ; 
but  this  amendment  would  give  the  just  rium  liberorum  to 
him  who  would  import  slaves  ; that  other  kinds  of  property 
were  pretty  equally  distributed  through  all  the  colonies  ; — 
there  were  as  many  cattle,  horses,  and  sheep,  in  the  North 
as  the  South,  and  South  as  North  ; but  not  so  as  to  slaves ; 
— that  experience  has  shown  that  those  colonies  have  been 
always  able  to  pay  most  which  have  the  most  inhabitants, 
whether  they  be  black  or  white  ; and  the  practice  cf  the 
Southern  colonies  has  always  been  to  make  every  farme.‘  pay 
poll  taxes  upon  all  his  laborers,  whether  they  be  black  or 
white.  He  acknowledges,  indeed,  that  freemen  worw  the 
most,  but  they  consume  the  most  also.  They  do  not  pro- 
duce a greater  surplus  for  taxation.  The  slave  is  neither 
fed  nor  clothed  so  expensively  as  a freeman.  Again,  %hite 
women  are  exempted  from  labor  generally,  but  negro  woolen 
are  not.  In  this,  then,  the  Southern  States  have  an  advan- 
tage, as  the  Article  now  stands.  It  has  sometimes  bten 
said  that  slavery  is  necessary,  because  the  commodities  they 
raise  would  be  too  dear  for  market,  if  cultivated  by  free- 
men ; but  now  it  is  said  that  the  labor  of  the  slave  is  the 
dearest. 

Mr.  Payne  urged  the  original  resolution  of  Congress, 
to  proportion  the  quotas  of  the  States  to  the  number  of 
souls. 

Dr.  Witherspoon  was  of  opinion  that  the  value  of  lands 
and  houses  was  the  best  estimate  of  the  wealth  of  a nation, 
and  that  it  was  practicable  to  obtain  such  a valuation.  This 
is  the  true  barometer  of  wealth.  The  one  now  proposed  is 
imperfect  in  itself,  and  unequal  between  the  States.  It  has 


26 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


been  objected  that  negroes  eat  the  food  of  freemen,  and 
therefore  should  be  taxed  ; horses  also  eat  the  food  of  free- 
men, therefore  they  also  should  be  taxed.  It  has  been  said, 
too,  that  in  carrying  slaves  into  the  estimate  of  the  taxes 
the  State  is  to  pay,  we  do  no  more  than  those  States  them- 
selves do,  who  always  take  slaves  into  the*  estimate  of  the 
taxes  the  individual  is  to  pay.  But  the  cases  are  not 
parallel.  In  the  Southern  colonies  slaves  pervade  the  whole 
colony,  but  they  do  not  pervade  the  whole  continent.  That 
as  to  the  original  resolution  of  Congress,  to  proportion  the 
quotas  according  to  the  souls,  it  was  temporary  only,  and 
related  to  the  moneys  heretofore  remitted  ; whereas  we  are 
now  entering  into  a new  compact,  and  therefore  stand  on 
original  ground. 

August  1.  The  question  being  put,  the  amendment 
proposed  was  rejected  by  the  votes  of  New  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  against  those  of  Delaware,  Mary- 
land, Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina.  Georgia  was 
divided. 

The  other  article  was  in  these  words  : — “ Art.  XVII.  In 
determining  questions,  each  colony  shall  have  one  vote.” 

July  30,  31,  August  1.  Present  forty-one  members.  Mr. 
Chase  observed,  that  this  Article  was  the  most  likely  to 
divide  us  of  any  one  proposed  in  the  draft  then  under  con- 
sideration. That  the  larger  colonies  had  threatened  they 
would  not  confederate  at  all,  if  their  weight  in  Congress 
should  not  be  equal  to  the  numbers  of  people  they  added  to 
the  confederacy,  while  the  smaller  ones  declared  against  a 
union,  if  they  did  not  retain  an  equal  vote  for  the  protection 
of  their  rights.  That  it  was  of  the  utmost  consequence  to 
bring  the  parties  together,  as,  should  we  sever  from  each 
other,  either  no  foreign  power  will  ally  with  us  at  all,  or  the 
different  States  will  form  different  alliances,  and  thus  in- 
crease the  h >rrors  of  those  scenes  of  civil  war  and  bloodshed 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


27 


which,  in  such  a state  of  separation  and  independence,  would 
render  us  a miserable  people.  That  our  importance,  our 
interests,  our  peace,  required  that  we  should  confederate, 
and  that  mutual  sacrifices  should  be  made  to  effect  a com- 
promise of  this  difficult  question.  He  was  of  opinion 
the  smaller  colonies  would  lose  their  rights,  if  they  were 
not  in  some  instances  allowed  an  equal  vote ; and  therefore 
that  a discrimination  should  take  place  among  the  ques- 
tions which  would  come  before  Congress.  That  the  smaller 
States  should  be  secured  in  all  questions  concerning  life  or 
liberty,  and  the  greater  ones  in  all  respecting  property.  He 
therefore  proposed  that,  in  votes  relating  to  money,  the 
voice  of  each  colony  should  be  proportioned  to  the  number 
of  its  inhabitants. 

Dr.  Franklin  thought  that  the  votes  should  be  so  pro- 
portioned in  all  cases.  He  took  notice  that  the  Delaware 
counties  had  bound  up  their  delegates  to  disagree  to  this 
article.  He  thought  it  very  extraordinary  language  to  be 
held  by  any  State,  that  they  would  not  confederate  with  us 
unless  we  would  let  them  dispose  of  our  money.  Certainly, 
if  we  vote  equally  we  ought  to  pay  equally  ; but  the  smaller 
States  will  hardly  purchase  the  privilege  at  this  price. 
That,  had  he  lived  in  a State  where  the  representation, 
originally  equal,  had  become  unequal  by  time  and  accident, 
he  might  have  submitted  rather  than  disturb  government; 
but  that  we  should  be  very  wrong  to  set  out  in  this  practice, 
when  it  is  in  our  power  to  establish  what  is  right.  That, 
at  the  time  of  the  union  between  England  and  Scotland, 
the  latter  had  made  the  objection  which  the  smaller  States 
now  do  ; but  experience  had  proved  that  no  unfairness  had 
ever  been  shown  them ; that  their  advocates  had  prognos- 
ticated that  it  would  again  happen,  as  in  times  of  old,  that 
the  whale  would  swallow  Jonah,  but  he  thought  the  predic- 
tion reversed  in  event,  and  that  Jonah  had  swallowed  the 
whale;  for  the  Scotch  had,  in  fact,  got  possession  of  the 


28 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


government,  and  gave  laws  to  the  English.  He  reprobated 
the  original  agreement  of  Congress  to  vote  by  colonies, 
and  therefore  was  for  their  voting,  in  all  cases,  according 
to  the  number  of  taxables. 

Dr.  Witherspoon  opposed  every  alteration  of  the  article. 
All  men  admit  that  a confederacy  is  necessary.  Should  the 
idea  get  abroad  that  there  is  likely  to  be  no  union  among  us, 
it  will  damp  the  minds  of  the  people,  diminish  the  glory  of 
our  struggle,  and  lessen  its  importance  ; because  it  will  open 
to  our  view  future  prospects  of  war  and  dissension  among 
ourselves.  If  an  equal  vote  be  refused,  the  smaller  States 
will  become  vassals  to  the  larger ; and  all  experience  has 
shown  that  the  vassals  and  subjects  of  Free  States  are  the 
most  enslaved.  He  instanced  the  helots  of  Sparta  and  the 
provinces  of  Rome.  He  observed  that  foreign  powers,  dis- 
covering this  blemish,  would  make  it  a handle  for  disengag- 
ing the  smaller  States  from  so  unequal  a confederacy.  That 
the  colonies  should,  in  fact,  be  considered  as  individuals ; 
and  that,  as  such,  in  all  disputes  they  should  have  an  equal 
vote ; that  they  are  now  collected  as  individuals  making  a 
bargain  with  each  other,  and,  of  course,  had  a right  to  vote 
as  individuals.  That  in  the  East  India  Company  they  voted 
by  persons,  and  not  by  their  proportion  of  stock.  That 
the  Belgic  confederacy  voted  by  provinces.  That  in  ques- 
tions of  war  the  smaller  States  were  as  much  interested  as 
the  larger,  and  therefore  should  vote  equally  ; and  indeed, 
that  the  larger  States  were  more  likely  to  bring  war  on  the 
confederacy,  in  proportion  as  their  frontier  was  more  exten- 
sive. He  admitted  that  equality  of  representation  was  an 
excellent  principle,  but  then  it  must  be  of  things  which  are 
co-ordinate  ; that  is,  of  things  similar,  and  of  the  same  na- 
ture ; that  nothing  relating  to  individuals  could  ever  come 
before  Congress  ; nothing  but  what  would  respect  Colonies. 
He  distinguished  between  an  incorporating  and  a federal 
union.  The  union  of  England  was  an  incorporating  one  ; 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


29 


yet  Scotland  had  suffered  by  that  union  ; for  that  its  inhab- 
itants were  drawn  from  it  by  the  hopes  of  places  and  em- 
ployments; nor  was  it  an  instance  of  equality  of  represen- 
tation ; because  while  Scotland  was  allowed  nearly  a thir- 
teenth of  representation,  they  were  to  pay  only  one-fortieth 
of  the  land-tax.  He  expressed  his  hopes  that,  in  the  present 
enlightened  state  of  men’s  minds,  we  might  expect  a lasting 
confederacy,  if  it  was  founded  on  fair  principles. 

John  Adams  advocated  the  voting  in  proportion  to 
numbers.  He  said,  that  we  stand  here  as  the  representa- 
tives of  the  people  ; that  in  some  States  the  people  are 
many,  in  others  they  are  few  ; that  therefore  their  vote  here 
should  be  proportioned  to  the  numbers  from  whom  it  comes. 
Reason,  justice,  and  equity,  never  had  weight  enough,  on 
the  face  of  the  earth,  to  govern  the  councils  of  men.  It  is 
interest  alone  which  does  it,  and  it  is  interest  alone  which 
can  be  trusted ; that  therefore  the  interests  within  doors 
should  be  the  mathematical  representatives  of  the  interests 
without  doors ; that  the  individuality  of  the  colonies  is  a 
mere  sound.  Hoes  the  individuality  of  a colony  increase 
its  wealth  or  numbers  ? If  it  does,  pay  equally.  If  it  does 
not  add  weight  in  the  scale  of  the  confederacy,  it  cannot 
add  to  their  rights,  nor  weigh  in  argument.  A has  £50,  B 
£500,  C £1000,  in  partnership.  Is  it  just  they  should 
equally  dispose  of  the  moneys  of  the  partnership  ? It  has 
been  said  we  are  independent  individuals,  making  a bargain 
together.  The  question  is  not  what  we  are  now,  but  what 
we  ought  to  be  when  our  bargain  shall  be  made.  The  con- 
federacy is  to  make  us  one  individual  only ; it  is  to  form  us, 
like  separate  parcels  of  metal,  into  one  common  mass.  We 
shall  no  longer  retain  our  separate  individuality,  but  become 
a single  individual,  as  to  all  questions  submitted  to  the  con- 
federacy. Therefore  all  those  reasons  which  prove  the  jus- 
tice and  expediency  of  equal  representation  in  other  assem- 
blies hold  good  here.  It  has  been  objected  that  a propor- 


30 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


tional  vote  will  endanger  the  smaller  States.  We  answer, 
that  an  equal  vote  will  endanger  the  larger.  Virginia, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Massachusetts,  are  the  three  greater  colo- 
nies. Consider  their  distance,  their  difference  of  produce, 
of  interests,  and  of  manners,  and  it  is  apparent  they  can 
never  have  an  interest  or  inclination  to  combine  for  the  op- 
pression of  the  smaller ; that  the  smaller  will  naturally  di- 
vide on  all  questions  with  the  larger.  Rhode  Island,  from 
its  relation,  similarity,  and  intercourse,  will  generally  pur- 
sue the  same  objects  with  Massachusetts  ; Jersey,  Delaware, 
and  Maryland,  with  Pennsylvania. 

Dr.  Rush  took  notice,  that  the  decay  of  the  liberties  of 
the  Dutch  republic  proceeded  from  three  causes — 1.  The  per- 
fect unanimity  requisite  on  all  occasions ; 2.  Their  obligation 
to  consult  their  constituents  ; 3.  Their  voting  by  provinces. 
This  last  destroyed  the  equality  of  representation ; and  the  lib- 
erties of  Great  Britain,  also,  are  sinking  from  the  same  defect. 
That  a part  of  our  rights  is  deposited,  in  the  hands  of  our  leg- 
islatures. There,  it  was  admitted,  there  should  be  an  equality 
of  representation.  Another  part  of  our  rights  is  deposited 
in  the  hands  of  Congress.  Why  is  it  not  equally  necessary 
there  should  be  an  equal  representation  there?  Were  it 
possible  to  collect  the  whole  body  of  the  people  together, 
they  would  determine  the  question  submitted  to  them  by 
their  authority.  Why  should  not  the  same  majority  decide, 
when  voting  here  by  their  representatives  ? The  larger 
colonies  are  so  providentially  divided  in  situation,  as  to 
render  every  fear  of  their  combining  visionary.  Their  in- 
terests are  different,  and  their  circumstances  dissimilar.  It 
is  more  probable  they  will  become  rivals,  and  leave  it  in 
the  power  of  the  smaller  States  to  give  preponderance  to 
any  scale  they  please.  The  voting  by  the  number  of  free 
inhabitants  will  have  one  excellent  effect — that  of  inducing 
the  colonies  to  discourage  slavery  and  to  encourage  the  in- 
crease of  their  free  inhabitants. 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


31 


Mr.  Hopkins  observed,  there  were  four  larger,  four 
smaller,  and  four  middle-sized  colonies.  That  the  foqr 
largest  would  contain  more  than  half  the  inhabitants  of 
the  confederating  States,  and  therefore  would  govern  the 
; filers  as  they  should  please.  That  history  affords  no  in- 
stance of  such  a thing  as  equal  representation.  The  Ger- 
manic body  votes  by  States  ; the  Helvetic  body  does  the 
same  ; and  so  does  the  Belgic  confederacy.  That  too  little 
is  known  of  the  ancient  confederations  to  say  what  was 
their  practice. 

Mr.  Wilson  thought  that  taxation  should  be  in  propor- 
tion to  wealth,  but  that  representation  should  accord  with 
the  number  of  freemen. 

That  government  is  a collection  or  result  of  the  wills  of 
all ; that  if  any  government  could  speak  the  will  of  all,  it 
would  be  perfect ; and  that,  so  far  as  it  departs  from  this, 
it  becomes  imperfect.  It  has  been  said  that  Congress  is  a 
representation  of  States,  not  of  individuals. 

I say,  that  the  objects  of  its  care  are  all  the  individuals 
of  the  States.  It  is  strange  that  annexing  the  name  of 
“ State”  to  ten  thousand  men,  should  give  them  an  equal 
right  with  forty  thousand.  This  must  be  the  effect  of 
magic,  not  of  reason.  As  to  those  matters  which  are 
referred  to  Congress,  we  are  not  so  many  States ; we  are 
one  large  State.  We  lay  aside  our  individuality  whenever 
we  come  here. 

The  Germanic  body  is  a burlesque  on  government,  and 
their  practice  on  any  point  is  a sufficient  authority  and 
proof  that  it  is  wrong.  The  greatest  imperfection  in  the 
constitution  of  the  Belgic  confederacy  is  their  voting  by 
provinces.  The  interest  of  the  whole  is  constantly  sacri- 
ficed to  that  of  the  small  States. 

The  history  of  the  war  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne 
sufficiently  proves  this.  It  is  asked,  Shall  nine  colonies  put 
it  into  the  power  of  four  to  govern  them  as  they  please  ? 


82 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


I invert  the  question,  and  ask,  Shall  two  millions  of  people 
put  it  into  the  power  of  one  million  to  govern  them  as  they 
please  ? It  is  pretended,  too,  that  the  smaller  colonies  will 
be  in  danger  from  the  greater.  Speak  in  honest  language, 
and  say,  the  minority  will  be  in  danger  from  the  majority. 
And  is  there  an  assembly  on  earth  where  this  danger  may 
not  be  equally  pretended?  The  truth  is,  that  our  proceed- 
ings will  then  be  consentaneous  with  the  interests  of  the 
majority,  and  so  they  ought  to  be.  The  probability  is 
much  greater  that  the  larger  States  will  disagree,  than  that 
they  will  combine. 

I defy  the  wit  of  man  to  invent  a possible  case,  or  to 
suggest  any  one  thing  on  earth,  which  shall  be  for  the 
interests  of  Virginia,  Pennsylvania  and  Massachusetts,  and 
which  will  not  also  be  for  the  interests  of  the  other  States. 

These  Articles,  reported  July  12,  ’16,  were  debated  from 
day  to  day,  and  time  to  time,  for  two  years ; were  ratified 
July  9,  ’18,  by  ten  States;  by  New  Jersey,  on  the  26th  of 
November  of  the  same  year;  and  by  Delaware,  on  the  23d 
of  February  following.  Maryland,  alone,  held  off  two  years 
more,  acceding  to  them,  March  1,  ’81,  and  thus  closing  the 
obligation.  Following  are  the  Articles  : — 

ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION  AND  PERPETUAL 
UNION  BETWEEN  THE  STATES. 

To  all  to  whom  these  Presents  shall  come,  We,  the  un- 
dersigned Delegates  of  the  States  affixed  to  our  names, 
send  greeting. — Whereas,  the  Delegates  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  in  Congress  assembled,  did,  on  the  15th 
day  of  November,  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  1717,  and  in 
the  Second  Year  of  the  Independence  of  America,  agree 
to  certain  Articles  of  Confederation  and  perpetual  Union 
between  the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts-bay, 
Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  Connecticut, 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Mary- 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


33 


land,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and 
Georgia,  in  the  words  following,  viz.: 

“ Articles  of  Confederation  and  Perpetual  Union  between 
the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay, 
Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  Connecticut, 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Ma- 
ryland, Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia. 

Article  1.  The  style  of  this  Confederacy  shall  be  “ The 
United  States  of  America.” 

Article  2.  Each  State  retains  its  sovereignty,  freedom 
and  independence,  and  every  power,  jurisdiction  and  right, 
which  is  not  by  this  confederation  expressly  delegated  to 
the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 

Article  3.  The  said  States  hereby  severally  enter  into 
a firm  league  of  friendship  with  each  other,  for  their  com- 
mon defense,  the  security  of  their  liberties,  and  their  mutual 
and  general  welfare,  binding  themselves  to  assist  each  other 
against  all  force  offered  to,  or  attacks  made  upon  them,  or 
any  of  them,  on  account  of  religion,  sovereignty,  trade,  or 
any  other  pretense  whatever. 

Article  4.  The  better  to  secure  and  perpetuate  mutual 
friendship  and  intercourse  among  the  people  of  the  different 
States  in  this  Union,  the  free  inhabitants  of  each  of  these 
States — paupers,  vagabonds,  and  fugitives  from  justice  ex- 
cepted— shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  immunities  of 
free  citizens  in  the  several  States  ; and  the  people  of  each 
State  shall  have  free  ingress  and  regress  to  and  from  any 
other  State,  and  shall  enjoy  therein  all  the  privileges  of 
trade  and  commerce,  subject  to  the  same  duties,  impositions 
and  restrictions,  as  the  inhabitants  thereof  respectively,  pro- 
vided that  such  restriction  shall  not  extend  so  far  as  to 
prevent  the  removal  of  property,  imported  into  any  State, 
to  any  other  State  of  which  the  owner  is  an  inhabitant ; 

3 


34 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


provided,  also,  that  no  imposition,  duties  or  restriction  shall 
be  laid  by  any  State  on  the  property  of  the  United  States, 
or  either  of  them. 

If  any  person  guilty  of,  or  charged  with  treason,  felony, 
or  other  high  misdemeanor  in  any  State,  shall  flee  from 
justice,  and  be  found  in  any  of  the  United  States,  he  shall 
upon  demand  of  the  Governor,  or  executive  power  of  the 
State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  and  removed  to 
the  State  having  jurisdiction  of  his  offense. 

Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  of  these 
States,  to  the  records,  acts  and  judicial  proceedings  of  the 
courts  and  magistrates  of  every  other  State. 

Article  5.  For  the  more  convenient  management  of  the 
general  interest  of  the  United  States,  Delegates  shall  be 
annually  appointed,  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature  of 
each  State  shall  direct,  to  meet  in  Congress  on  the  first 
Monday  in  November,  in  every  year,  with  a power  reserved 
to  each  State,  to  recall  its  Delegates,  or  any  of  them,  at  any 
time  within  the  year,  and  to  send  others  in  their  stead,  for 
the  remainder  of  the  year. 

No  State  shall  be  represented  in  Congress  by  less  than 
two,  nor  by  more  than  seven  members  ; and  no  person  shall 
be  capable  of  being  a Delegate  for  more  than  three  years 
in  any  term  of  six  years  ; nor  shall  any  person,  being  a 
Delegate,  be  capable  of  holding  any  office  under  the  United 
States,  for  which  he,  or  another  for  his-  benefit,  receives  any 
salary,  fees  or  emolument  of  any  kind. 

Each  State  shall  maintain  its  own  Delegates  in  any 
meeting  of  the  States,  and  while  they  act  as  members  of 
the  Committee  of  the  States. 

In  determining  questions  in  the  United  States,  in  Con- 
gress assembled,  each  State  shall  have  one  vote. 

Freedom  of  speech  and  debate  in  Congress  shall  not  be 
impeached  or  questioned  in  any  court  or  place,  out  of  Con- 
gress, and  the  members  of  Congress  shall  be  protected  in 


ARTICLES  Of  CONFEDERATION. 


35 


their  persons  from  arrests  and  imprisonments,  during  the 
time  of  their  going  to  and  from,  and  attendance  on  Con- 
gress, except  for  treason,  felony,  or  breach  of  the  peace. 

Article  6.  No  State  without  the  consent  of  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  send  any  embassy  to,  or 
receive  any  embassy  from,  or  enter  into  any  conference, 
agreement,  alliance  or  treaty  with  any  King,  Prince  or 
State  ; nor  shall  any  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or 
trust  under  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them,  accept  of  any 
present,  emolument,  office  or  title  of  any  kind  whatever  from 
any  King,  Prince  or  Foreign  State  ; nor  shall  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled,  or  any  of  them,  grant  any 
title  of  nobility. 

No  two  or  more  States  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  con- 
federation or  alliance  whatever  between  them,  without  the 
consent  of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  speci- 
fying accurately  the  purposes  for  which  the  same  is  to  be 
entered  into,  and  how  long  it  shall  continue. 

No  State  shall  lay  any  imposts  or  duties  which  may 
interfere  with  any  stipulations  in  treaties,  entered  into  by 
the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  with  any  King, 
Prince  or  State,  in  pursuance  of  any  treaties  already  pro- 
posed by  Congress,  to  the  Courts  of  France  and  Spain. 

No  vessels  of  war  shall  be  kept  up  in  time  of  peace  by  any 
State,  except  such  number  only,  as  shall  be  deemed  necessary 
by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  for  the  defense 
of  such  State,  or  its  trade  ; nor  shall  any  body  of  forces  be 
kept  up  by  any  State,  in  time  of  peace,  except  such  number 
only,  as  in  the  judgment  of  the  United  States,  in  Congress 
assembled,  shall  be  deemed  requisite  to  garrison  the  forts 
necessary  for  the  defense  of  such  State  ; but  every  State  shall 
always  keep  up  a well  regulated  and  disciplined  militia, 
sufficiently  armed  and  accoutred,  and  shall  provide  and  have 
constantly  ready  for  use,  in  public  stores,  a due  number  of 


36 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


field  pieces  and  tents,  and  a proper  quantity  of  arras,  ammu- 
nition and  camp  equipage. 

No  State  shall  engage  in  any  war  without  the  consent  of 
the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  unless  such  Slate 
e actually  invaded  by  enemies,  or  shall  have  received 
«rtain  advice  of  a resolution  being  formed  by  some  nation 
if  Indians  to  invade  such  State,  and  the  danger  is  so  immi- 
nent as  not  to  admit  of  a delay,  till  the  United  States  in 
Congress  assembled  can  be  consulted  : nor  shall  any  State 
grant  commissions  to  any  ships  or  vessels  of  war,  nor  letters 
of  marque  or  reprisal,  except  it  be  after  a declaration  of  war 
by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  and  then  only 
against  the  kingdom  or  State,  and  the  subjects  thereof, 
against  which  war  has  been  so  declared,  and  under  such 
regulations  as  shall  be  established  by  the  United  States  in 
Congress  assembled,  unless  such  State  be  infested  by  pirates, 
in  which  case  vessels  of  war  may  be  fitted  out  for  that  occa- 
sion, and  kept  so  long  as  the  danger  shall  continue,  or  until 
the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  determine 
otherwise. 

Article  T.  When  land-forces  are  raised  by  any  State 
for  the  common  defense,  all  officers  of  or  under  the  rank  of 
colonel,  shall  be  appointed  by  the  legislature  of  each  State 
respectively  by  whom  such  forces  shall  be  raised,  or  in  such 
manner  as  such  State  shall  direct,  and  all  vacancies  shall  be 
filled  up  by  the  State  which  first  made  the  appointment. 

Article  8.  All  charges  of  war,  and  all  other  expenses 
that  shall  be  incurred  for  the  common  defense  or  general 
welfare,  and  allowed  by  the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled,  shall  be  defrayed  out  of  a common  treasury, 
which  shall  be  supplied  by  the  several  States,  in  proportion 
to  the  value  of  all  land  within  each  State,  granted  to  or  sur- 
veyed for  any  person,  as  such  land  and  the  buildings  and 
improvements  thereon  shall  be  estimated  according  to  such 
mode  as  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  from 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


37 


time  to  time,  direct  and  appoint.  The  taxes  for  paying 
that  proportion  shall  be  laid  aud  levied  by  the  authority 
and  direction  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States  within 
the  time  agreed  upon  by  the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled. 

Article  9.  The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled 
shall  have  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and  power  of  deter- 
mining on  peace  and  war,  except  in  the  cases  mentioned  in 
the  6th  article — of  sending  aud  receiving  ambassadors — 
entering  into  treaties  and  alliances,  provided  that  no  treaty 
of  commerce  shall  be  made  whereby  the  legislative  power 
of  the  respective  States  shall  be  restrained  from  imposing 
such  imposts  and  duties  on  foreigners,  as  their  own  people 
are  subjected  to,  or  from  prohibiting  the  exportation  or 
importation  of  any  species  of  goods  or  commodities  whatso- 
ever— of  establishing  rules  for  deciding  in  all  cases  what 
captures  on  land  or  water  shall  be  legal,  and  in  what  manner 
prizes  taken  by  laud  or  naval  forces  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States  shall  be  divided  or  appropriated — of  granting 
letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  in  times  of  peace — appointing 
courts  for  the  trial  of  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the 
high  seas  and  establishing  courts  for  receiving  and  deter- 
mining finally  appeals  in  all  cases  of  captures,  provided  that 
no  member  of  Congress  shall  be  appointed  a judge  of  any 
of  the  said  courts. 

The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  also  be 
the  last  resort  on  appeal  in  all  disputes  and  differences  now 
subsisting  or  that  hereafter  may  arise  between  two  or  more 
States  concerning  boundary,  jurisdiction,  or  any  other  cause 
whatever ; which  authority  shall  always  be  exercised  in  the 
manner  following  : — Whenever  the  legislative  or  executive 
authority  or  lawful  agent  of  any  State  in  controversy  with 
another  shall  present  a petition  to  Congress,  stating  the 
matter  in  question  and  praying  for  a hearing,  notice  thereof 
shall  be  given  by  order  of  Congress,  to  the  legislative  or 


38 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


executive  authority  of  the  other  State  in  controversy,  and  a 
day  assigned  for  the  appearance  of  the  parties  by  their  lawful 
agents,  who  shall  then  be  directed  to  appoint  by  joint  con- 
sent, commissioners  or  judges  to  constitute  a court  for  hear- 
ing and  determining  the  matter  in  question  : but  if  they 
cannot  agree,  Congress  shall  name  three  persons  out  of  each 
of  the  United  States,  and  from  the  list  of  such  persons  each 
party  shall  alternately  strike  out  one,  the  petitioners  begin- 
ning, until  the  number  shall  be  reduced  to  thirteen  ; and 
from  that  number  not  less  than  seven,  nor  more  than  nine 
names  as  Congress  shall  direct,  shall  in  the  presence  of 
Congress  be  drawn  out  by  lot,  and  the  persons  whose  names 
shall  be  so  drawn  or  any  five  of  them,  shall  be  commissioners 
or  judges,  to  hear  and  finally  determine  the  controversy,  so 
always  as  a major  part  of  the  judges  who  shall  hear  the 
cause  shall  agree  in  the  determination  : and  if  either  party 
shall  neglect  to  attend  at  the  day  appointed,  without  showing 
reasons  which  Congress  shall  judge  sufficient,  or  being 
present  shall  refuse  to  strike,  the  Congress  shall  proceed  to 
nominate  three  persons  out  of  each  State,  and  the  Secretary 
of  Congress  shall  strike  in  behalf  of  such  party  absent  or 
refusing  ; and  the  judgment  and  sentence  of  the  court  to  be 
appointed,  in  the  manner  before  prescribed,  shall  be  final 
and  conclusive ; and  if  any  of  the  parties  shall  refuse  to 
submit  to  the  authority  of  such  court,  or  to  appear  or  defend 
their  claim  or  cause,  the  court  shall  nevertheless  proceed  to 
pronounce  sentence,  or  judgment,  which  shall  in  like  manner 
be  final  and  decisive,  the  judgment  or  sentence  and  other 
proceedings  being  in  either  case  transmitted  to  Congress, 
and  lodged  among  the  acts  of  Congress  for  the  security  of 
the  parties  concerned  : provided  that  every  commissioner, 
before  he  sits  in  judgment,  shall  take  an  oath  to  be  admin- 
istered by  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  or  Superior 
Court  of  the  State  where  the  cause  shall  be  tried,  “well 
and  truly  to  hear  and  determine  the  matter  in  question, 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


39 


according  to  the  best  of  his  judgment,  without  favor,  affec- 
tion, or  hope  of  reward  provided  also  that  no  State  shall 
be  deprived  of  territory  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States. 

All  controversies  concerning  the  private  right  of  soil 
claimed  under  different  grants  of  two  or  more  States,  whose 
jurisdictions  as  they  may  respect  such  lands,  and  the  States 
which  passed  such  grants,  are  adjusted;  the  said  grants  or 
either  of  them  being  at  the  same  time  claimed  to  have 
originated  antecedent  to  such  settlement  of  jurisdiction, 
shall,  on  the  petition  of  either  party  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  be  finally  determined  as  near  as  may  be  in 
the  same  manner  as  is  before  prescribed  for  deciding  dis- 
putes respecting  territorial  jurisdiction  between  different 
States. 

The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  also  have 
the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and  power  of  regulating  the 
alloy  and  value  of  coin  struck  by  their  own  authority,  or 
by  that  of  the  respective  States — fixing  the  standard  of 
weights  and  measures  throughout  the  United  States — regu- 
lating the  trade  and  managing  all  affairs  with  the  Indians, 
not  members  of  any  of  the  States  ; provided  that  the  legis- 
lative right  of  any  State  within  its  own  limits  be  not  in- 
fringed or  violated — establishing  or  regulating  post-offices 
from  one  State  to  another,  throughout  all  the  United  States, 
and  exacting  such  postage  on  the  papers  passing  through 
the  same  as  may  be  requisite  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
said  office — appointing  all  officers  of  the  land  forces,  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  excepting  regimental  officers — 
appointing  all  the  officers  of  the  naval  forces,  and  com- 
missioning all  officers  whatever  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States — making  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of 
the  said  land  and  naval  forces,  and  directing  their  operations. 

The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  have 
authority  to  appoint  a committee,  to  sit  in  the  recess  of 
Congress,  to  be  denominated  “A  Committee  of  the  States,’' 


40 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


and  to  consist  of  one  delegate  from  each  State;  anil  to 
appoint  such  other  committees  and  civil  officers  as  may  be 
necessary  for  managing  the  general  affairs  of  the  United 
States  under  their  direction — to  appoint  one  of  their  number 
to  preside ; provided  that  no  person  be  allowed  to  serve  in 
the  office  of  president  more  than  one  year  in  any  term  of 
three  years — to  ascertain  the  necessary  sums  of  money  to 
be  raised  for  the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  to  ap- 
propriate and  apply  the  same  for  defraying  the  public 
expenses — to  borrow  money,  or  emit  bills  on  the  credit  of 
the  United  States,  transmitting  every  half  year  to  the 
respective  States  an  account  of  the  sums  of  money  so  bor- 
rowed or  emitted ^-to  build  and  equip  a navy — to  agree 
upon  the  number  of  laud  forces,  and  to  make  requisitions 
from  each  State  for  its  quota,  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  white  inhabitants  in  such  State ; which  requisition  shall 
be  binding,  and  thereupon  the  legislature  of  each  State 
‘■hall  appoint  the  regimental  officers,  raise  the  men  and 
clothe,  arm  and  equip  them  in  a soldier-like  manner,  at  the 
expense  of  the  United  States ; and  the  officers  and  men  so 
clothed,  armed  and  equipped,  shall  march  to  the  place 
appointed,  and  within  the  time  agreed  on  by  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled:  But  if  the  United  States 
in  Congress  assembled  shall,  on  consideration  of  circum- 
stances, judge  proper  that  any  State  should  not  raise  men, 
or  should  raise  a smaller  number  than  its  quota,  and  that 
any  other  State  should  raise  a greater  number  of  men  than 
the  quota  thereof,  such  extra  number  shall  be  raised, 
officered,  clothed,  armed  and  equipped  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  quota  of  such  State,  unless  the  legislature  of  such 
State  shall  judge  that  such  extra  number  cannot  be  safely 
spared  out  of  the  same,  in  which  case  they  shall  raise,  officer, 
clothe,  arm  and  equip  as  many  of  such  extra  number  as 
they  judge  can  be  safely  spared.  And  the  officers  and  men 
bo  clothed,  armed  and  equipped,  shall  march  to  the  place 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


41 


appointed,  and  within  the  time  agreed  on  by  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled. 

The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  never 
engage  in  a war,  nor  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal 
in  time  of  peace,  nor  enter  into  any  treaties  or  alliances,  nor 
coin  money,  nor  regnlate  the  value  thereof,  nor  ascertain 
the  sums  and  expenses  necessary  for  the  defense  and  welfare 
of  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them,  nor  emit  bills,  nor 
borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States,  nor 
appropriate  money,  nor  agree  upon  the  number  of  vessels 
of  war  to  be  built  or  purchased,  or  the  number  of  land  or 
sea  forces  to  be  raised,  nor  appoint  a commander-iu-chief 
of  the  army  or  navy,  unless  nine  States  assent  to  the  same  : 
nor  shall  a question  on  auy  other  point,  except  for  adjourn- 
ing from  day  to  day,  be  determined,  unless  by  the  votes  of 
a majority  of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States  shall  have  power  to 
adjourn  to  any  time  within  the  year,  and  to  any  place  within 
the  United  States,  so  that  no  period  of  adjournment  be  for 
a longer  duration  than  the  space  of  six  months,  and  shall 
publish  the  journal  of  their  proceedings  monthly,  except 
such  parts  thereof  relating  to  treaties,  alliances,  or  military 
operations,  as  in  their  judgment  require  secrecy ; and  the 
yeas  and  nays  of  the  delegates  of  each  State  on  any  question 
shall  be  entered  on  the  journal,  when  it  is  desired  by  any 
delegate  ; aud  the  delegates  of  a State,  or  auy  of  them,  at 
his  or  their  request,  shall  be  furnished  with  a transcript  of 
the  said  journal,  except  such  parts  as  are  above  excepted, 
to  lay  before  the  legislatures  cf  the  several  States. 

Article  10.  The  committee  of  the  States,  or  any  nine 
of  them,  shall  be  authorized  to  execute,  in  the  recess  of 
Congress,  such  of  the  powers  of  Congress  as  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled,  by  the  consent  of  nine  States, 
shall,  from  time  to  time  think  expedient  to  vest  them  with ; 
provided  that  no  power  be  delegated  to  the  said  committee. 


42 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


for  the  exercise  of  which,  by  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
the  voice  of  nine  States  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
assembled  is  requisite. 

Article  11.  Canada,  acceding  to  this  confederation 
and  joining  in  the  measures  of  the  United  States,  shall  be 
admitted  into,  and  entitled  to  all  the  advantages  of  this 
union  ; but  no  other  colony  shall  be  admitted  into  the 
same,  unless  such  admission  be  agreed  to  by  nine  States. 

Article  12.  All  bills  of  credit  emitted,  moneys  bor- 
rowed and  debts  contracted  by,  or  under  the  authority  of 
Congress,  before  the  assembling  of  the  United  States,  in 
pursuance  of  the  present  confederation,  shall  be  deemed 
and  considered  as  a charge  against  the  United  States,  for 
payment  and  satisfaction  whereof  the  said  United  States 
and  the  public  faith  are  hereby  solemnly  pledged. 

Article  13.  Every  State  shall  abide  by  the  deter- 
minations of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  on 
all  questions  which  by  this  confederation  is  submitted  to 
them.  And  the  articles  of  this  confederation  shall  be  in- 
violably observed  by  every  State,  and  the  union  shall  be 
perpetual ; nor  shall  any  alteration  at  any  time  hereafter  be 
made  in  any  of  them  ; unless  such  alteration  be  agreed  to  in 
a Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  be  afterward  con- 
firmed by  the  legislatures  of  every  State. 

And  Whereas  it  hath  pleased  the  Great  Governor  of  the 
World  to  incline  the  hearts  of  the  legislatures  we  respec- 
tively represent  in  Congress,  to  approve  of,  and  to  authorize 
us  to  ratify  the  said  Articles  of  Confederation  and  perpetual 
union.  Know  Ye  that  we,  the  undersigned  delegates,  by 
virtue  of  the  power  and  authority  to  us  given  for  that  pur- 
pose, do  by  these  presents,  in  the  name  and  in  behalf  of 
our  respective  constituents,  fully  and  entirely  ratify  and 
confirm  each  and  every  of  the  said  Articles  of  Confederation 
and  perpetual  union,  and  all  and  singular  the  matters  and 
things  therein  contained : And  we  do  further  solemnly 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


43 


plight  and  engage  the  faith  of  our  respective  constituents, 
that  they  shall  abide  by  the  determinations  of  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled,  on  all  questions,  which  by 
the  said  confederation  are  submitted  to  them.  And  that 
the  articles  thereof  shall  be  inviolably  observed  by  the 
States  we  respectively  represent,  and  that  the  union  shall  be 
perpetual.  In  witness  whereof  we  have  hereunto  set  our 
hands  in  Congress.  Done  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  the  9th  day  of  July,  in  the  Tear  of  our  Lord, 
1778,  and  in  the  3d  year  of  the  Independence  of  America. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 

The  following,  from  the  papers  of  Mr.  Madison,  is  the 
concluding  portion  of  an  article  by  him,  detailing  the  causes 
which  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Constitution  : 

A resort  to  a general  convention  to  re-model  the  con- 
federacy, was  not  a new  idea.  It  had  entered  at  an  early 
date  into  the  conversations  and  speculations  of  the  most 
reflecting  and  foreseeing  observers  of  the  inadequacy  of  the 
powers  allowed  to  Congress.  In  a pamphlet  published  in 
May,  1181,  at  the  seat  of  Congress,  Peletiah  Webster,  an 
able  though  not  conspicuous  citizen,  after  discussing  the 
fiscal  system  of  the  United  States,  and  suggesting,  among 
other  remedial  provisions,  one  including  a national  bank, 
remarks,  that  “the  authority  of  Congress  at  present  is  very 
inadequate  to  the  performance  of  their  duties ; and  this 
indicates  the  necessity  of  their  calling  a Continental  Con- 
vention for  the  express  purpose  of  ascertaining,  defining, 
enlarging,  and  limiting  the  duties  and  powers  of  their  Con- 
stitution.” 

On  the  1st  of  April,  1183,  Col.  Hamilton,  in  a debate  in 
in  Congress,  observed,  “ That  he  wished,  instead  of  them, 
(partial  conventions),  to  see  a general  convention  take 
place  ; and  that  he  should  soon,  in  pursuance  of  his  instruc- 
tions from  his  constituents,  propose  to  Congress  a plan  for 
that  purpose,  the  object  of  which  would  be  to  strengthen 
the  Federal  Constitution.”  He  alluded,  probably,  to  the 
resolutions  introduced  by  General  Schuyler,  in  the  Senate, 
and  passed  unanimously  by  the  Legislature  of  New  York, 
(44) 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION". 


45 


in  the  summer  of  1782,  declaring  “that  the  confederation 
was  defective,  in  not  giving  Congress  power  to  provide  a 
revenue  for  itself,  or  in  not  investing  them  with  funds  from 
established  and  productive  sources ; and  that  it  would  be 
advisable  for  Congress  to  recommend  to  the  States  to  call 
a general  convention,  to  revise  and  amend  the  confedera- 
tion.” It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  his  expectation 
had  been  fulfilled. 

In  a letter  to  James  Madison  from  U.  H.  Lee,  then 
president  of  Congress,  dated  the  26th  of  November,  1184, 
he  says : “it  is  by  many  here  suggested,  as  a very  necessary 
step  for  Congress  to  take,  the  calling  on  the  States  to  form 
a convention,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  revising  the  confedera- 
tion, so  far  as  to  enable  Congress  to  execute,  with  more 
energy,  effect,  and  vigor,  the  powers  assigned  to  it,  than  it 
appears  by  experience  that  they  can  do  under  the  present 
state  of  things.”  The  answer  of  Mr.  Madison  remarks : 
“ I hold  it  for  a maxim,  that  the  Union  of  the  States  is 
essential  to  their  safety  against  foreign  danger  and  internal 
contention  ; and  that  the  perpetuity  and  efficacy  of  the 
present  system  cannot  be  confided  in.  The  question,  there  • 
fore,  is  in  what  mode  and  at  what  moment,  the  experiment 
for  supplying  the  defects  ought  to  be  made.” 

In  the  winter  of  1784-5,  Noah  Webster,  whose  political 
and  other  valuable  writings  had  made  him  known  to  the 
public,  proposed,  in  one  of  his  publications,  “A  new  system 
of  government,  which  should  act,  not  on  the  States,  but 
directly  on  individuals,  and  vest  in  Congress  full  power  to 
carry  its  laws  into  effect.” 

The  proposed  and  expected  Convention  at  Annapolis, 
the  first  of  a general  character  that  appears  to  have  been 
realized,  and  the  state  of  the  public  mind  awakened  by  it, 
had  attracted  the  particular  attention  of  Congress,  and  fa- 
vored the  idea  there  of  a Convention  with  fuller  powers  for 
amending  the  confederacy 


46 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


It  does  not  appear  that  in  any  of  these  cases  the  re- 
formed system  was  to  be  otherwise  sanctioned  than  by  the 
legislative  authority  of  the  States  ; nor  whether,  nor  how 
far,  a change  was  to  be  made  in  the  structure  of  the  de- 
pository of  federal  powers. 

The  Act  of  Virginia,  providing  for  the  Convention  at 
Philadelphia,  was  succeeded  by  appointments  from  the 
other  States,  as  their  legislatures  were  assembled,  the  ap- 
pointments being  selections  from  the  most  experienced  and 
high-standing  citizens.  Rhode  Island  was  the  only  excep- 
tion to  a compliance  with  the  recommendation  from  An- 
napolis, well  known  to  have  been  swayed  by  an  obdurate 
adherence  to  an  advantage,  which  her  position  gave  her,  of 
taxing  her  neighbors  through  their  consumption  of  im- 
ported supplies — an  advantage  which  it  was  foreseen  would 
be  taken  from  her  by  a revisal  of  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation. 

As  the  public  mind  had  been  ripened  for  a salutary  re- 
form of  the  political  system,  in  the  interval  between  the 
proposal  and  the  meeting  of  the  Commissioners  at  Anna- 
polis, the  interval  between  this  last  event  and  the  meeting  of 
Deputies  at  Philadelphia,  had  continued  to  develop  more 
and  more  the  necessity  and  the  extent  of  a systematic  pro- 
vision for  the  preservation  and  government  of  the  Union. 
Among  the  ripening  incidents,  was  the  insurrection  of 
Shays,  in  Massachusetts,  against  her  government,  which 
was  with  difficulty  suppressed,  notwithstanding  the  influ- 
ence on  the  insurgents  of  an  apprehended  interposition  of 
the  federal  troops. 

At  the  date  of  the  Convention,  the  aspect  and  retrospect 
of  the  political  condition  of  the  United  States  could  not 
but  fill  the  public  mind  with  a gloom,  which  was  relieved 
only  by  a hope  that  so  select  a body  would  devise  an  ade- 
quate remedy  for  the  existing  and  prospective  evils  so  im- 
pressively demanding  it. 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION'. 


47 


It  was  seen  that  the  public  debt,  reudered  so  sacred  by 
the  cause  in  which  it  had  been  incurred,  remained  without 
any  provision  for  its  payment.  The  reiterated  and  elabo- 
rate efforts  of  Congress,  to  procure  from  the  States  a more 
adequate  power  to  raise  the  means  of  payment,  had  failed. 
The  effect  of  the  ordinary  requisitions  of  Congress  had  only 
displayed  the  inefficiency  of  the  authority  making  them  ; 
none  of  the  States  having  duly  complied  with  them,  some 
having  failed  altogether,  or  nearly  so,  while  in  one  instance, 
that  of  New  Jersey,  a compliance  was  expressly  refused  ; 
nor  was  more  yielded  to  the  expostulations  of  members  of 
Congress,  deputed  to  her  legislature,  than  a mere  repeal 
of  the  law,  without  a compliance.  The  want  of  authority 
in  Congress  to  regulate  commerce  had  produced  in  foreign 
nations,  particularly  Great  Britain,  a monopolizing  policy’-, 
injurious  to  the  trade  of  the  United  States,  and  destructive 
to  their  navigation  ; the  imbecility,  and  anticipated  disso- 
lution of  the  Confederacy,  extinguishing  all  apprehensions 
of  a countervailing  policy  on  the  part  of  the  United  States. 
The  same  want  of  a general  power  over  commerce,  led  to 
an  exercise  of  the  power,  separately,  by  the  States,  which 
not  only  proved  abortive,  but  engendered  rival,  conflicting, 
and  angry  regulations.  Beside  the  vain  attempts  to  supply 
their  respective  treasuries -by  imposts,  which  turned  their 
commerce  into  the  neighboring  ports,  and  to  coerce  a re- 
laxation of  the  British  monopoly  of  the  West  India  navi- 
gation, which  was  attempted  by  Virginia,  the  States  having 
ports  for  foreign  commerce,  taxed  and  irritated  the  adjoin- 
ing States  trading  through  them — as  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Virginia,  and  South  Carolina.  Some  of  the  States, 
as  Connecticut,  taxed  imports  from  others,  as  from  Massa- 
chusetts, which  complained  in  a letter  to  the  Executive  of 
Virginia,  and  doubtless  to  those  of  other  States.  In  sun- 
dry instances,  as  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Maryland,  the  navigation  laws  treated  the  citizens  of 


48 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


other  States  as  aliens.  In  certain  cases,  the  authority  of 
the  confederacy  was  disregarded — as  in  violation,  not  only 
of  the  treaty  of  peace,  but  of  treaties  with  France  and 
Holland  ; which  were  complained  of  to  Congress.  In 
other  cases,  the  Federal  authority  was  violated  by  treaties 
and  wars  with  Indians,  as  by  Georgia ; by  troops  raised 
and  kept  up  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  as  by  Massa- 
chusetts ; by  compacts  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  as 
between  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey,  and  between  Vir- 
ginia and  Maryland.  From  the  legislative  journals  of 
Virginia,  it  appears,  that  a vote,  refusing  to  apply  for  a 
sanction  of  Congress,  was  followed  by  a vote  against  the 
communication  of  the  compact  to  Congress.  In  the  inter- 
nal administration  of  the  States,  a violation  of  contracts 
had  become  familiar,  in  the  form  of  depreciated  paper, 
made  a legal  tender,  of  property  substituted  for  money,  of 
instalment  laws,  and  of  the  occlusions  of  the  courts  of  jus- 
tice, although  evident  that  all  such  interferences  affected 
the  rights  of  other  States,  relatively  creditors,  as  well  as 
citizen  creditors  within  the  State.  Among  the  defects 
.which  had  been  severely  felt,  was  want  of  a uniformity  in 
cases  requiring  it,  as  laws  of  naturalization  and  bank- 
ruptcy ; a coercive  authority  operating  on  individuals  ; and 
a guarantee  of  the  internal  tranquillity  of  the  States. 

As  a natural  consequence  of  this  distracted  and  disheart- 
ening condition  of  the  Union,  the  federal  authority  had 
ceased  to  be  respected  abroad,  and  dispositions  were  shown, 
particularly  in  Great  Britain,  to  take  advantage  of  imbecility, 
and  to  speculate  on  its  approaching  downfall.  At  home, 
it  had  lost  all  confidence  and  credit ; the  unstable  and  unjust 
career  of  the  States  had  also  forfeited  the  respect  and  confi- 
dence essentia!  to  order  and  good  government,  involving  a 
general  decay  of  confidence  and  credit  between  man  and 
man.  It  was  found,  moreover,  that  those  least  partial  to 
popular  government,  or  most  distrustful  of  its  efficacy,  were 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


49 


yielding  to  anticipations,  that,  from  an  increase  of  the  con- 
fusion, a government  might  result  more  congenial  with  their 
taste  or  their  opinions ; whilst  those  most  devoted  to  the 
principles  and  forms  of  republics  were  alarmed  for  the  cause 
of  liberty  itself,  at  stake  in  the  American  experiment,  and 
anxious  for  a system  that  would  avoid  the  inefficacy  of  a 
mere  loose  confederacy,  without  passing  into  the  opposite 
extreme  of  a consolidated  government.  It  was  known  that 
there  were  individuals  who  had  betrayed  a bias  toward 
monarchy,  and  there  had  always  been  some  not  unfavorable 
to  a partition  of  the  Union  into  several  confederacies,  either 
from  a better  chance  of  figuring  on  a sectional  theatre,  or 
that  the  sections  would  require  stronger  governments,  or, 
by  their  hostile  conflicts,  lead  to  a monarchical  consolida- 
tion. The  idea  of  dismemberment  had  recently  made  its 
appearance  in  the  newspapers. 

Such  were  the  defects,  the  deformities,  the  diseases,  and 
the  ominous  prospects,  for  which  the  Convention  was  to  pro- 
vide a remedy,  and  which  ought  never  to  be  overlooked  in 
expounding  and  appreciating  the  constitutional  charter,  the 
remedy  that  was  provided. 

As  a sketch  on  paper,  the  earliest,  perhaps,  of  a consti- 
tutional government  for  the  Union,  (organized  into  regular 
departments,  with  physical  means  operating  on  individuals,) 
to  be  sanctioned  by  the  people  of  the  States,  acting  in  their 
original  and  sovereign  character,  was  contained  in  the  letters 
of  James  Madison  to  Thomas  Jefferson,  of  the  19th  of 
March  : to  Governor  Randolph,  of  the  8th  of  April ; and 
to  General  Washington,  of  the  16th  of  April,  1781. 

The  feature  in  these  letters  which  vested  in  the  general 
authority  a negative  on  the  laws  of  the  States,  was  suggested 
by  the  negative  in  the  head  of  the  British  Empire,  which 
prevented  collisions  between  the  parts  and  the  whole,  and 
between  the  parts  themselves.  It  was  supposed  that  the 
substitution  of  an  elective  and  responsible  authority  for  an 
4 


50 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


hereditary  and  irresponsible  one  would  avoid  the  appearance 
even  of  a departure  from  republicanism.  But,  although  the 
subject  was  so  viewed  in  the  Convention,  and  the  votes  on 
it  were  more  than  once  equally  divided,  it  was  finally  and 
justly  abandoned,  as,  apart  from  other  objections,  it  was 
not  practicable  among  so  many  States,  increasing  in  number, 
and  enacting,  each  of  them,  so  many  laws.  Instead  of  the 
proposed  negative,  the  objects  of  it  were  left  as  finally  pro- 
vided for  in  the  Constitution. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  Virginia  deputies  at  Philadelphia, 
it  occurred  to  them,  that  from  the  early  and  prominent  part 
taken  by  that  State  in  bringing  about  the  Convention,  some 
initiative  step  might  be  expected  from  them.  The  resolu- 
tions introduced  by  Governor  Randolph  were  the  result  of 
a consultation  on  the  subject,  with  an  understanding  that 
they  left  all  the  deputies  entirely  open  to  the  lights  of  dis- 
cussion, and  free  to  concur  in  any  alterations  or  modifications 
which  their  reflections  and  judgments  might  approve.  The 
resolutions,  as  the  journals  show,  became  the  basis  on  which 
the  proceedings  of  the  Convention  commenced,  and  to  the 
developments,  variations,  and  modifications  of  which,  the 
plan  of  government  proposed  by  the  Convention  may  be 
traced. 

APPOINTMENT  OP  DELEGATES  BY  STATES. 

New  Hampshire. — By  Act  of  June  27,  1781,  John 
Langdon,  John  Pickering,  Nicholas  Gilman,  and  Benjamin 
West,  or  any  two  of  them,  were  “ appointed  and  author- 
ized to  act  as  deputies  from  this  State  to  meet  at  Philadel- 
phia, delegates  from  the  other  States  of  this  Confederacy, 
to  devise  ways  to  avert  the  dangers  which  threaten  our  ex- 
istence as  a free  people.” 

Massachusetts. — Francis  Dana,  Elbridge  Gerry,  Na- 
thaniel Gorham,  Rufus  King,  and  Caleb  Strong  were  chosen 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


51 


by  the  General  Court,  April  9,  1787,  and  any  three  of  them 
authorized  to  act. 

Connecticut. — William  S.  Johnson,  Roger  Sherman, 
and  Oliver  Ellsworth,  appointed  by  Act  of  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  second  Thursday  of  May,  1187. 

New  York. — Robert  Yates,  John  Lansing,  Jr.,  and 
Alexander  Hamilton,  appointed  by  Act  of  Assembly,  March 
6,  1787. 

New  Jersey. — David  Brearly,  Wm.  C.  Houston,  Wil- 
liam Patterson,  and  John  Neilson,  appointed  by  the  Coun- 
cil and  Assembly,  November  23,  1786.  On  the  18th  May, 
1787,  William  Livingston  and  Abraham  Clark, — and  on 
the  5th  June  following,  Jonathan  Dayton,  were  added  to 
those  first  appointed,  and  any  three  of  them  empowered  to 
act. 

Pennsylvania. — December  30,  1786,  Thomas  Mifflin, 
Robert  Morris,  George  Clymer,  Jared  Ingersoll,  Thomas 
Fitzsimmons,  James  Wilson,  and  Gouverneur  Morris  were 
appointed  by  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly ; and  by 
Act  of  28th  March,  1787,  Benjamin  Franklin  was  added  L> 
the  list. 

Delaware. — George  Read,  Gunning  Bedford,  Joh<i 
Dickinson,  Richard  Basset,  and  Jacob  Broom,  or  any  three 
of  them,  were  appointed  by  Act  of  Assembly  of  February  S, 
1787. 

Maryland. — James  McHenry,  Daniel  of  St.  ThomM 
Jenifer,  Daniel  Carroll,  John  Francis  Mercer,  and  Luther 
Martin  were  appointed  by  the  House  of  Delegates  and 
Senate,  May  26,  1187. 

Virginia. — On  the  4th  December,  1786,  by  the  Housi  of 
Delegates,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate,  George 
Washington,  Patrick  Henry,  Edmund  Randolph,  John 
Blair,  James  Madison,  George  Mason,  and  George  Wythe, 
were  appointed.  Mr.  Henry  declined,  and  James  McClurg 


52 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


was  appointed  by  Governor  Randolph,  in  his  place  on  the 
2d  May,  1787. 

North  Carolina. — By  Act  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Commons,  in  January,  1787,  Richard  Caswell,  Alexander 
Martin,  William  Richardson  Davie,  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight, 
and  Willie  Jones  were  appointed.  Mr.  Caswell  resigned, 
and  on  the  twenty- third  of  April  William  Blount  was  ap- 
pointed in  his  stead;  Willie  Jones  declining  the  appoint- 
ment, Hugh  Williamson  was  appointed  by  the  Governor  in 
his  place. 

South  Carolina.. — By  Act  of  March  8,  1787,  Charles 
Pinckney,  John  Rutledge,  Charles  C.  Pinckney,  and  Pierce 
Butler  were  commissioned. 

Georgia. — By  an  ordinance  of  10th  February,  1787,  Wil- 
liam Few,  Abraham  Baldwin,  William  Pierce,  George  Wal- 
ton, William  Houston,  and  Nathaniel  Pendleton  appointed 
deputies  from  this  State. 

ABSTRACT  OP  THE  JOURNAL  AND  DEBATES  IN 
THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 

. On  Monday  the  14th  of  May,  A.  D.,  1787,  and  in  the 
eleventh  year  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  at  the  State  House  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in 
virtue  of  appointments  from  their  respective  States,  sundry 
deputies  to  the  Federal  Convention  appeared ; but  a ma- 
jority of  States  not  being  represented,  the  members  pres- 
ent adjourned  from  day  to  day  until  Friday  the  25th  of  the 
said  month,  when,  in  virtue  of  the  said  appointments,  ap- 
peared from  the  State  of 

Massachusetts. — The  Hon.  Rufus  King,  Esq. 

New  York. — The  Hon.  Robert  Yates,  and  Alexander 
Hamilton,  Esqs. 

New  Jersey. — The  Hon.  David  Brearly, William  Church- 
hill  Houston,  and  William  Patterson,  Esqs. 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


63 


Pennsylvania. — The  Hon.  Robert  Morris.  Thomas  Fitz- 
simmons, James  Wilson,  and  Gouverneur  Morris,  Esqs. 

Delaware. — The  Hon.  George  Read,  Richard  Bassett, 
and  Jacob  Broom,  Esqs. 

Virginia. — His  Excellency  George  Washington,  Esq., 
His  Excellency  E.  Randolph,  Esq.,  The  Hon.  John  Blair, 
James  Madison,  George  Mason,  George  Wythe,  and  James 
McClurg,  Esqs. 

North  Carolina. — The  Hon.  Alexander  Martin,  Wil- 
liam Richardson  Davie,  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight,  and 
Hugh  Williamson,  Esqs. 

South  Carolina. — The  Hon.  John  Rutledge,  Charles 
Cotesworth  Pinckney,  Pierce  Butler,  and  Charles  Pinckney, 
Esqs. 

Georgia. — The  Hon.  William  Few,  Esq. 

Hon.  Robert  Morris  of  Pennsylvania  moved  that  a Pre- 
sident be  elected  by  ballot,  and  nominated  George  Wash- 
ington. A ballot  was  taken  and  he  was  declared  unani-^ 
mously  elected,  and  was  conducted  to  the  Chair  by  Mr. 
Morris  and  Mr.  Rutledge.  William  Jackson  was  elected 
Secretary,  Nicholas  Weaver,  Messenger,  and  Joseph  Frye, 
Door-Keeper. 

Mr.  Wythe,  Mr.  Hamilton,  and  Mr.  C.  Pinckney  were 
appointed  a Committee  on  Rules,  and  the  Convention  ad- 
journed till  Monday  at  10  o’clock. 

Monday,  May  28,  1181. — The  Convention  met;  Natha- 
niel Gorham  and  Caleb  Strong,  deputies  from  Massachu- 
setts, Oliver  Ellsworth  from  the  State  of  Connecticut,  Gun- 
ning Bedford  from  Delaware,  James  McHenry  from  Mary- 
land ; Benjamin  Franklin,  George  Clymer,  Thomas  Mifflin, 
and  Jared  Ingersoll,  of  Pennsylvania,  took  their  seats. 
Rules  for  the  government  of  the  Convention  were  reported 
and  adopted. 

Mr.  Randolph  the;'  opened  the  business  of  the  Conven- 
tion by  offering  the  following  resolutions  : 


54 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


Resolutions  offered  by  Edward  Randolph  to  the  Con- 
vention, May  29,  1187. 

“ 1.  Resolved,  That  the  Articles  of  the  Confederation 
ought  to  be  so  corrected  and  enlarged  as  to  accomplish 
the  objects  proposed  by  their  institution ; namely,  corn- 
mon  defense,  security  of  liberty,  and  general  welfare. 

“ 2.  Resolved,  Therefore,  that  the  right  of  suffrage,  in 
the  national  legislature  ought  to  be  proportioned  to  the 
quotas  of  contribution,  or  to  the  number  of  free  inhabit- 
ants, as  the  one  or  the  other  may  seem  best,  in  different 
cases. 

“ 3.  Resolved,  That  the  national  legislature  ought  to  con- 
sist of  two  branches. 

“4.  Resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  first  branch  of 
the  national  legislature  ought  to  be  elected  by  the  people 
of  the  several  States  every  for  the  term  of 

to  be  of  the  age  of  years,  at  least ; 

to  receive  liberal  stipends,  by  which  they  may  be  compen- 
sated for  the  devotion  of  their  time  to  the  public  service; 
to  be  ineligible  to  any  office  established  by  a particular 
State  ; or  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  (except 
those  peculiarly  belonging  to  the  functions  of  the  first 
branch,)  during  the  term  of  service  and  for  the  space  of 
after  its  expiration;  to  be  incapable  of  re- 
election  for  the  space  of  after  the  expiration 

of  their  term  of  service ; and  to  be  subject  to  recall. 

“5.  Resolved,  that  the  members  of  the  second  branch 
of  the  national  legislature  ought  to  be  elected  by  those  of 
the  first,  out  of  a proper  number  of  persons  nominated  by 
the  individual  legislatures ; to  be  of  the  age  of 
years,  at  least ; to  hold  their  offices  for  a term  sufficient  to 
insure  their  independency ; to  receive  liberal  stipends,  by 
which  they  may  be  compensated  for  the  devotion  of  their 
time  to  the  public  service  ; and  to  be  ineligible  to  any 
office  established  by  a particular  State,  or  under  the  autho- 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


55 


rity  of  the  United  States,  (except  those  particularly  be- 
longing to  the  functions  of  the  second  branch,)  during  the 
term  of  service  ; and  for  the  space  of  after  the  ex- 

piration thereof. 

“ 6.  Resolved,  That  each  branch  ought  to  possess  the 
right  of  originating  acts;  that  the  national  legislature  ought 
to  be  empowered  to  enjoy  the  legislative  right  vested  in 
Congress  by  the  Confederation ; and  moreover,  to  legis- 
late in  all  cases  to  which  the  separate  States  are  incompe- 
tent, or  in  which  the  harmony  of  the  United  States  may  be 
interrupted  by  the  exercise  of  individual  legislation  ; to 
negative  all  laws  passed  by  the  several  States,  contravening, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  national  legislature,  the  articles  of 
union,  or  any  treaty  subsisting  under  the  authority  of  the 
Union;  and  to  call  forth  the  force  of  the  Union  against 
any  member  of  the  Union  failing  to  fulfill  its  duty  under 
the  articles  thereof. 

“ 7.  Resolved,  That  a national  executive  be  instituted, 
to  be  chosen  by  the  national  legislature  for  the  term  of 
years,  to  receive  punctually,  at  stated  times,  a fixed  com- 
pensation for  the  services  rendered,  in  which  no  increase  or 
diminution  shall  be  made,  so  as  to  affect  the  magistracy 
existing  at  the  time  of  the  increase  or  diminution  ; to  be 
ineligible  a second  time ; and  that,  beside  a general  autho- 
rity to  execute  the  national  laws,  it  ought  to  enjoy  the 
executive  rights  vested  in  Congress  by  the  Confederation. 

“8.  Resolved,  That  the  executive  and  a convenient  num 
ber  of  the  national  judiciary  ought  to  compose  a council  of 
revision,  with  authority  to  examine  every  act  of  the  national 
legislature  before  it  shall  operate,  and  every  act  of  a parti- 
cular legislature,  before  a negative  thereon  shall  be  final ; 
and  that  the  dissent  of  the  said  council  shall  amount  to  a 
rejection,  unless  the  act  of  the  national  legislature  be  again 
passed,  or  that  of  a particular  legislature  be  again  negatived 
by  of  the  member*  of  each  branch. 


56 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


“9.  Resolved,  That  a national  judiciary  be  established, 
to  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and  to  re- 
ceive punctually,  at  stated  times,  a fixed  compensation  for 
their  services,  in  which  no  increase  or  diminution  shall  be 
made,  so  as  to  affect  the  persons  actually  in  office  at  the 
time  of  such  increase  or  diminution.  That  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  inferior  tribunals,  shall  be  to  hear  and  determine  in 
the  first  instance,  and  of  the  supreme  tribunal  to  hear  and 
determine  in  the  dernier  ressort,  all  piracies  and  felonies 
on  the  seas ; captures  from  an  enemy ; cases  in  which 
foreigners,  or  citizens  of  other  States,  applying  to  such 
jurisdictions,  may  be  interested  or  which  respect  the  collec- 
tion of  the  national  revenue  ; impeachments  of  any  national 
officer ; and  questions  which  involve  the  national  peace  or 
harmony. 

“ 10.  Resolved,  That  provision  ought  to  be  made  for  the 
admission  of  States  lawfully  arising  within  the  limits  of  the 
United  States,  whether  from  a voluntary  junction  of  govern- 
ment or  territory,  or  otherwise,  with  the  consent  of  a num- 
ber of  voices  in  the  national  legislature  less  than  the  whole. 

“ 11.  Resolved,  That  a republican  government,  and  the 
territory  of  each  State,  (except  in  the  instance  of  a volun- 
tary junction  of  government,  and  territory,)  ought  to  be 
guaranteed  by  the  United  States  to  each  State. 

“ 12.  Resolved,  That  provision  ought  to  be  made  for  the 
continuance  of  Congress,  and  their  authorities  and  privi- 
leges, until  a given  day,  after  the  reform  of  the  articles  of 
union  shall  be  adopted,  and  for  the  completion  of  all  their 
engagemeuts. 

“ 13.  Resolved,  That  provision  ought  to  be  made  for  the 
amendment  of  the  articles  of  union,  whensoever  it  shall 
seem  necessary ; and  that  the  assent  of  the  national  legis- 
lature ought  not  to  be  required  thereto. 

“ 14.  Resolved,  That  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judi- 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


57 


ciary  powers  within  the  several  States  ought  to  be  bound 
by  oath  to  support  the  articles  of  union. 

“ 15.  Resolved,  That  the  amendments  which  shall  be 
offered  to  the  Confederation  by  the  Convention,  ought,  at  a 
proper  time  or  times,  after  the  approbation  of  Congress,  to 
be  submitted  to  an  assembly  or  assemblies  of  representa- 
tives, recommended  by  the  several  legislatures,  to  be 
expressly  chosen  by  the  people  to  consider  and  decide 
thereon. 

“ 16.  Resolved,  That  the  House  will  to-morrow  resolve 
itself  into  a committee  of  the  whole  House,  to  consider  of 
the  state  of  the  American  Union.” 

Wednesday,  May  30.  The  Hon.  Roger  Sherman,  a 
deputy  from  the  State  of  Connecticut,  appeared  and  took 
his  seat. 

The  House  went  into  Committee  of  the  Whole,  Mr. 
Gorham  in  the  Chair,  on  the  resolutions  of  Mr.  Randolph. 

Mr.  Madison  moved  “ that  the  equality  of  suffrage 
established  by  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  ought  not  to 
prevail  in  the  national  legislature ; and  that  an  equitable 
ratio  of  representation  ought  to  be  substituted.”  This 
was  opposed,  on  the  ground  that  the  deputies  from  Dela- 
ware were  instructed  not  to  assent  to  such  a change,  and 
they  would  therefore  retire  should  it  be  adopted.  After 
some  discussion  the  Committee  rose  and  the  House  ad- 
journed. 

Thursday,  May  1.  The  Hon.  William  Pierce,  of  Georgia, 
took  his  seat. 

Mr.  Randolph’s  third  resolution,  “that  the  national 
legislature  ought  to  consist  of  two  branches,”  was  agreed 
to  without  dissent,  except  from  Dr.  Franklin  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

The  first  clause  of  the  fourth  resolution,  “that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  first  branch  of  the  national  legislature  ought 


58 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


to  be  elected  by  the  people  of  the  several  States,”  was 
taken  up. 

Mr.  Sherman  opposed  election  by  the  people,  and  said 
it  ought  to  be  by  the  State  legislatures ; that  the  people 
were  constantly  liable  to  be  misled. 

Mr.  Gerry  also  opposed  election  by  the  people,  saying 
that  we  had  been  having  an  excess  of  democracy  heretofore. 
Pretended  patriots  would  dupe  and  deceive  the  people — 
that  they  had  done  it  heretofore  in  Massachusetts. 

Mr.  Madison  considered  the  election  of  one  branch  by 
the  people  as  essential  to  every  plan  of  a free  government. 
He  thought  that  the  great  fabric  to  be  raised  would  be 
more  stable  and  durable,  if  it  should  rest  on  the  solid 
foundation  of  the  people  themselves,  than  if  it  should  stand 
merely  on  the  pillars  of  the  legislatures. 

On  the  question  for  election  by  the  people,  Ayes  6, 
Noes  2,  Connecticut  and  Delaware  divided. 

[The  reader  will  here  observe  that  the  votes  of  the  Con- 
vention in  all  cases  were  taken  by  States.] 

It  was  then  moved  to  elect  the  members  of  the  second 
branch  by  the  members  of  the  first.  This,  after  considera- 
ble discussion,  was  voted  down. 

Friday , June  1.  The  Hon.  William  Houstoun,  from 
Georgia,  took  his  seat. 

The  Committee  of  the  Whole  proceeded  to  the  seventh 
resolution,  “ that  a national  executive  be  instituted,  to  be 
chosen  by  the  national  legislature  for  the  term  of  years, 
to  be  ineligible  thereafter,  &c.” 

Mr.  Pinckney  was  for  a vigorous  executive,  but  was 
afraid  it  might  run  into  a monarchy. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  for  a single  executive. 

Dr.  Franklin  wanted  the  question  discussed,  as  it  was 
very  important. 

Mr.  Sherman  thought  the  executive  should  be  elected  by 
Congress. 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


59 


Mr.  'Madison  opposed  fixing  the  executive  till  his  powers 
were  first  agreed  upon.  Pending  the  discussion  the  House 
adjourned. 

Saturday,  June  2.  William  S.  Johnson,  from  Connecti- 
cut, Daniel  of  St.  Thomas  Jenifer,  from  Maryland,  and 
John  Lansing,  Jr.,  from  New  York,  took  their  seats. 

The  motion  to  elect  the  executive  by  the  national  legis- 
lature for  the  term  of  seveu  years  was  agreed  to. 

Monday,  June  4.  It  was  agreed  that  the  executive 
should  consist  of  but  one  person,  New  York,  Delaware  and 
Maryland  voting  No.  It  was  also  agreed  that  the  execu- 
tive should  have  the  right  of  veto.  It  was  also  agreed  that 
a national  judiciary,  to  consist  of  one  supreme  tribunal,  and 
one  or  more  inferior,  should  be  constituted. 

Tuesday,  June  5.  On  the  question  of  choosing  the 
judiciary  by  the  national  legislature, 

Dr.  Franklin  suggested  the  Scotch  mode  of  letting  the 
lawyers  choose  the  judges,  as  they  would  always  choose  the 
ablest  of  the  profession  in  order  to  get  his  practice  them- 
selves. 

Mr.  Madison  was  opposed  to  electing  judges  by  the  legis- 
lature, or  by  any  numerous  body,  and  was  inclined  to  give 
it  to  the  Senate. 

William  Livingston,  from  New  Jersey,  took  his  seat. 

Wednesday,  June  6.  Mr.  Pinckney  moved  “that  the 
first  branch  of  the  national  legislature  be  elected  by  the 
State  legislatures,  and  not  by  the  people.’’ 

Mr.  Mason  spoke  against  this  motion.  He  said  that 
under  the  confederacy  Congress  represented  the  States,  not 
the  people ; under  the  present  plan  of  government  Con- 
gress should  represent  the  people,  therefore  should  be  chosen 
by  the  people. 

Mr.  Dickinson  proposed  that  the  two  systems  should  be 
blended.  Let  one  branch  come  directly  from  the  people, 
and  thr  other  be  chosen  by  the  State  legislatures.  One 


60 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


would  thus  represent  the  people,  and  the  other  the  interests 
of  the  States,  and  being  independent  they  would  operate  as 
checks  upon  each  other. 

Mr.  Read  thought  too  much  attachment  was  betrayed 
for  the  State  governments.  The  national  government  must 
of  necessity  swallow  them  up.  If  we  do  not  establish  a 
good  and  strong  government  we  should  soon  have  to  do  the 
work  over  again. 

Mr.  Pinckney  and  Mr.  Wilson  were  for  preserving  the 
State  governments.  The  motion  of  Mr.  Pinckney  to  elect 
the  first  branch  by  the  State  legislatures  was  then  nega- 
tived.* 

From  June  T th  till  the  14th,  the  Convention  was  engaged 
in  the  discussion  of  the  remainder  of  Mr.  Randolph’s  reso- 
lutions, when  they  were  reported  to  the  House  with  amend- 
ments. 

June  15.  Mr.  Patterson  submitted  a series  of  resolu- 
tions, which  were  afterward  designated  as  “the  Jersey 
plan.”  They  were  postponed,  however,  and  on  the  19th 
voted  down,  receiving  but  three  votes. 

June  18.  Mr.  Hamilton  addressed  the  Convention,  and 
at  the  close  of  his  remarks,  offered  his  plan  of  government. 
We  give  both  the  speech  and  the  plan,  from  Mr.  Yates’ 
notes,  who  observes  that  Mr.  Hamilton  saw  and  corrected 

* The  reader  cannot  fail  to  observe,  from  this  discussion,  the 
design  of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  in  giving  each  State 
an  equal  representation  in  the  Senate,  and  of  electing  that 
branch  (the  second  branch)  by  the  State  legislatures,  viz.:  that 
the  Senate  should  be  the  conservator  of  State  sovereignty,  as 
suggested  by  Mr.  Dickinson,  while  the  House  (the  first  branch) 
should  represent  the  people.  A happy  blending  of  the  two  sys- 
tems proposed,  and  a full  answer  to  the  objection  so  frequently 
raised  in  large  States,  that  they  have  no  more  power  in  the 
Senate  than  the  smallest.  It  is  here  that  the  strongest  barrier 
against  the  despotism  of  a central  government  is  erected.  May 
it  never  be  pulled  down  I 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


61 


the  speech  at  the  time.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that,  from  this 
speech  and  plan  of  government  sprang  the  political  ani- 
mosity between  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Hamilton,  that  fin- 
ally resulted  in  the  organization  of  two  great  political  parties. 
Federal  and  Republican,  under  the  lead  of  those  truly  great 
men.  Mr.  Hamilton,  it  will  be  seen,  was  cautious  as  to 
trusting  power  in  the  hands  of  the  people,  and  advocated  a 
kind  of  elective  monarchy.  Mr.  Jefferson  took  the  oppo- 
site view,  and,  in  some  form  or  other,  those  distinctive 
ideas,  modified,  it  is  true,  have  pervaded  the  politics  of  the 
country  ever  since. 

Mr.  Hamilton  said  : To  deliver  my  sentiments  on  so  impor- 
tant a subject,  when  the  first  characters  of  the  Union  have 
gone  before  me,  inspires  me  with  the  greatest  diffidence, 
especially  when  my  own  ideas  are  so  materially  dissimilar 
to  the  plans  now  before  the  committee.  My  situation  is 
disagreeable ; but  it  would  be  criminal  not  to  come  forward 
on  a question  of  so  much  magnitude.  I have  well  consid- 
ered the  subject,  and  am  convinced  that  no  amendment  of 
the  Confederation  can  answer  the  purpose  of  a good  gov- 
ernment, so  long  as  the  State  sovereignties  do,  in  any 
shape  exist;  and  I have  great  doubts  whether  a national 
government  on  the  Yirginia  plan,  can  be  made  effectual. 
What  is  federal  ? An  association  of  several  independent 
States  into  one.  How  or  in  what  manner  this  association 
is  formed,  is  not  so  clearly  distinguishable.  We  find  that 
the  diet  of  Germany  has,  in  some  instances,  the  power  of 
legislation  on  individuals.  We  find  the  United  States  of 
America  have  it  in  an  exteusive  degree  in  the  case  of 
piracies. 

Let  us  now  review  the  powers  with  which  we  are  in- 
vested. We  are  appointed  with  the  sole  and  express  pur- 
pose of  revising  the  Confederation,  and  to  alter  or  amend  it, 
so  as  to  render  it  effectual  for  the  purpose  of  a good  gov- 
ernment. Those  who  suppose  it  to  be  federal,  lay  great 


62 


THE  FEDEEAL  CONVENTION'. 


stress  on  the  terms  sole  and  express,  as  if  these  words  in- 
tended a confinement  to  a federal  government,  when  the 
manifest  import  is  no  more  than  that  the  institution  of  a 
good  government  must  be  the  sole  and  express  object  of 
your  deliberations.  Nor  can  we  suppose  an  annihilation 
of  our  powers  by  forming  a national  government,  as  many 
of  the  States  have  made  in  their  constitutions  no  proper 
provisions  for  any  alterations,  and  thus  much  I can  say  for 
the  State  I have  the  honor  to  represent,  that  when  our 
credentials  were  under  consideration  in  the  Senate,  some 
members  were  for  inserting  a restriction  in  the  powers,  to 
prevent  an  encroachment  on  the  constitution  : it  was  an- 
swered by  others,  and  thereupon  the  resolve  carried  on  the 
credentials,  that  it  might  abridge  the  constitutional  powers 
of  the  State,  and  that  possibly  in  the  formation  of  a new 
Union,  it  would  be  found  necessary.  This  seems  reason- 
able, and  leaves  us  at  liberty  to  form  such  a national  gov- 
ernment as  we  think  best  adapted  to  the  whole.  I have 
therefore  no  difficulty  as  to  the  extent  of  our  powers,  nor 
do  I feel  myself  restrained  in  the  exercise  of  my  judgment 
under  them.  We  can  only  propose  and  recommend; — the 
power  of  ratifying  or  rejecting  is  still  in  the  States.  But 
on  this  great  question  I am  still  embarrassed.  I have  be- 
fore observed  my  apprehension  of  the  inefficacy  of  either 
plan,  and  I have  doubts  whether  a more  energetic  govern- 
ment can  pervade  this  wide  and  extensive  country.  I shall 
now  show  that  both  plans  are  materially  defective. 

1.  A good  government  ought  to  be  constant,  and  ought 
to  contain  an  active  principle.  2.  Utility  and  necessity. 
3.  An  habitual  sense  of  obligation.  4.  Force.  5.  Influ- 
ence. I hold  it  that  different  societies  have  all  different 
views  and  interests  to  pursue,  and  always  prefer  local  to 
general  concerns.  For  example,  the  New  York  Legisla- 
ture made  an  external  compliance  lately  to  a requisition  of 
Congress ; but  do  they  not,  at  the  same  time,  counteract 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


63 


their  compliance  by  gratifying  the  local  objects  of  the 
State,  so  as  to  defeat  their  concession  ? And  this  will  ever 
be  the  case.  Men  always  love  power,  and  States  will  prefer 
their  particular  concerns  to  the  general  welfare ; and  as 
the  States  become  large  and  important,  will  they  not  be 
less  attentive  to  the  general  government  ? What,  in  pro- 
cess of  time,  will  Virginia  be  ? She  contains  now  half  a 
million  inhabitants ; in  twenty-five  years  she  will  double 
that  number.  Feeling  her  own  weight  and  importance, 
must  she  not  become  indifferent  to  the  concerns  of  the 
Union  ? And  where  in  such  a situation  will  be  fouud 
national  attachment  to  the  general  government  ? 

By  force  I mean  the  coercion  of  law  and  the  coercion  of 
arms.  Will  this  remark  apply  to  the  power  invested  to  be 
instituted  by  their  plan  ? A delinquent  must  be  compelled 
to  obedience  by  force  of  arms.  How  is  this  to  be  done  ? 
If  you  are  unsuccessful,  a dissolution  of  your  government 
must  be  the  consequence  ; and  in  that  case  the  individual 
legislatures  will  resume  their  powers ; nay,  will  not  the 
interests  of  the  States  be  thrown  into  the  State  govern- 
ments ? 

By  influence  I mean  the  regular  weight  and  support  it 
will  receive  from  those  who  find  it  their  interest  to  support 
a government  intended  to  preserve  the  peace  and  happiness 
of  the  community  on  the  whole.  The  State  governments, 
by  either  plan,  will  exert  the  means  to  counteract  it.  They 
have  their  State  judges  and  militia,  all  combined  to  support 
their  State  interests;  and  these  will  be  influenced  to  oppose 
a national  government.  Either  plan  therefore  is  precarious. 
The  national  government  cannot  long  exist,  opposed  by  so 
weighty  a rival.  The  experience  of  ancient  and  modern 
confederacies  evinces  this  point,  and  throws  considerable 
light  on  the  subject.  The  Amphictyonic  council  of  Greece 
had  a right  to  require  of  its  members  troops,  money,  and 
the  force  of  the  country.  Were  they  obeyed  in  the  exer- 


G4  THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 

cise  of  those  powers  ? Could  they  preserve  the  peace  of 
the  greater  States  and  republics  ? Or,  where  were  they 
obeyed  ? History  shows  that  their  decrees  were  disre- 
garded, and  that  the  stronger  States,  regardless  of  their 
power,  gave  law  to  the  lesser. 

Let  us  examine  the  Federal  Institutions  of  Germany.  It 
was  instituted  upon  the  laudable  principle  of  securing  the 
independency  of  the  several  States  of  which  it  was  composed, 
and  to  protect  them  against  foreign  invasion.  Has  it 
answered  these  good  intentions  ? Do  we  not  see  that  their 
councils  are  weak  and  distracted,  and  that  it  cannot  prevent 
the  wars  and  confusions  which  the  respective  electors  carry 
on  against  each  other  ? The  Swiss  Cantons,  or  the  Helvetic 
Union,  are  equally  insufficient. 

Such  are  the  lessons  which  the  experience  of  others  affords 
us,  and  from  whence  results  the  evident  conclusion  that  all 
Federal  Governments  are  weak  and  distracted.  To  avoid 
the  evils  deducible  from  these  observations,  we  must  establish 
a general  and  national  government,  completely  sovereign, 
and  annihilate  the  State  distinctions  and  State  operations; 
and  unless  we  do  this,  no  good  purpose  can  be  answered. 
What  does  the  Jersey  plan  propose?  It  surely  has  not 
this  for  its  object.  By  this  we  grant  the  regulations  of 
trade  and  a more  effectual  collection  of  the  revenue,  and 
some  partial  duties.  These,  at  five  or  ten  per  cent.,  would 
only  perhaps  amount  to  a fund  to  discharge  the  debt  of  the 
corporation. 

Let  us  take  a review  of  the  variety  of  important  objects 
which  must  necessarily  engage  the  attention  of  a national 
government.  You  have  to  protect  your  rights  against 
Canada  on  the  North,  Spain  on  the  South,  and  your  western 
frontier  against  the  savages,  you  have  to  adopt  necessary 
plans  for  the  settlement  of  your  frontiers,  and  to  institute 
the  mode  in  which  settlements  aud  good  governments  are 
to  be  made. 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


65 


How  is  the  expense  of  supporting  and  regulating  these 
Important  matters  to  be  defrayed  ? By  requisition  on  the 
Slates  according  to  the  Jersey  plan  ? Will  this  do  it.  We 
have  already  found  it  ineffectual.  Let  one  state  prove  de- 
linquent, and  it  will  encourage  others  to  follow  the  example  ; 
and  thus  the  whole  will  fail.  And  what  is  the  standard  by 
which  to  quota  among  the  States  their  respective  propor- 
tions ? Can  lands  be  the  standard  ? How  would  that 
apply  between  Russia  and  Holland  ? Compare  Pennsyl- 
vania with  North  Carolina,  or  Connecticut  with  New  York. 
Hoes  not  commerce  or  industry  in  the  one  or  the  other 
make  a great  disparity,  between  these  different  countries, 
and  may  not  the  comparative  value  of  the  States,  from  these 
circumstances,  make  an  unequal  disproportion  when  the  data 
are  numbers  ? I therefore  conclude  that  either  system 
would  ultimately  destroy  the  Confederation,  or  any  other 
government  which  is  established  on  such  fallacious  prin- 
ciples. Perhaps  imposts — taxes  on  specific  articles — would 
produce  a more  equal  system  of  drawing  a revenue. 

Another  objection  against  the  Jersey  plan  is,  the  unequal 
representation.  Can  the  great  States  consent  to  this  ? If 
they  did,  it  would  eventually  work  its  own  destruction. 
How  are  forces  to  be  raised  by  the  Jersey  plan  ? By 
quotas  ? Will  the  States  comply  with  the  requisition  ? As 
much  as  they  will  with  the  taxes. 

Examine  the  present  Confederation,  and  it  is  evident 
they  can  raise  no  troops,  and  equip  no  vessels,  before  war 
is  actually  declared.  They  cannot,  therefore,  take  any  pre- 
paratory measure  before  an  enemy  is  at  your  door.  How 
unwise  and  inadequate  their  powers  ! And  this  must  ever 
be  the  case  when  you  attempt  to  define  powers  ; something 
will  always  be  wanting.  Congress,  by  being  annually 
sleeted,  and  subject  to  recall,  will  ever  come  with  the  pre- 
judices of  their  States,  rather  than  the  good  of  the  Union. 
Add  therefore,  additional  powers  to  a body  organized,  and 


o 


66 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


you  establish  a sovereignty  of  the  worst  kind  consisting  of  a 
single  body.  Where  are  the  checks  ? None.  They  must 
either  prevail  over  the  State  governments,  or  the  prevalence 
of  the  State  governments  must  end  in  their  dissolution. 
This  is  a conclusive  objection  to  the  Jersey  plan. 

Such  are  the  insuperable  objections  to  both  plans,  and 
what  is  to  be  done  on  this  occasion  ? I confess  I am  at  a 
loss.  I foresee  the  difficulty,  on  a consolidated  plan,  of 
drawing  a representation  from  so  extensive  a continent  to 
one  place.  What  can  be  the  inducements  for  gentlemen  to 
come  six  hundred  miles  to  a legislature  ? The  expense 
would  at  least  amount  to  a hundred  thousand  pounds.  This, 
however,  can  be  no  conclusive  objection,  if  it  eventuates  in 
an  extinction  of  State  governments : reduced  to  corpora- 
tions, and  with  very  limited  powers,  they  might  be  necessary, 
and  the  expense  of  the  national  government  less  burdensome. 

Yet,  I confess,  I see  great  difficulty  of  drawing  forth  a 
good  representation.  What,  for  example,  will  be  the  in- 
ducements for  gentlemen  of  fortune  and  abilities  to  leave 
their  houses  and  business  to  attend  annually  and  long  ? It 
.cannot  be  the  wages  ; for  these,  I presume,  must  be  small. 
Will  not  the  power,  therefore,  be  thrown  into  the  hands  of 
the  demagogue  or  middling  politician — who,  for  the  sake 
of  a small  stipend  and  the  hopes  of  advancement,  will  offer 
himself  as  a candidate,  and  the  real  men  of  weight  and  in- 
fluence, by  remaining  at  home,  add  strength  to  the  State 
governments  ? I am  at  a loss  to  know  what  must  be  done. 
I despair  that  a republican  form  of  government  can  remove 
the  difficulties.  Whatever  may  be  my  opinion,  I would  hold 
it,  however,  unwise  to  change  that  form  of  government.  I be- 
lieve the  British  Government  forms  the  best  model  the 
world  ever  produced  ; and  such  has  been  its  progress  in  the 
minds  of  many,  that  the  truth  gradually  gains  ground. 
This  government  has  for  its  object  public  strength  and  indi- 
vidual security.  It  is  said  with  us  to  be  unattainable.  If 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


67 


it  was  once  formed,  it  would  maintain  itself.  All  commu- 
nities divide  themselves  into  the  few  and  the  many.  The 
first  are  the  rich  and  well  born,  the  others  the  mass  of  the 
people.  The  voice  of  the  people  is  said  to  be  the  voice  of 
God  ; and,  however  generally  this  maxim  has  been  quoted 
and  believed,  it  is  not  true  in  fact.  The  people  are  turbu- 
lent and  changing  ; they  seldom  judge  or  determine  rightly. 
Give,  therefore,  the  first  class  a distinct  and  permanent 
share  in  the  government.  They  will  check  the  unsteadiness 
of  the  second,  and  as  they  cannot  receive  any  advantage  by 
change,  they  therefore  will  ever  maintain  good  government. 
Can  a democratic  assembly,  who  annually  revolve  in  the 
mass  of  people,  be  supposed  steadily  to  pursue  the  pub- 
lic good  ? Nothing  but  a permanent  body  can  check  the 
imprudence  of  democracy ; their  turbulent  and  incontrolla- 
ble  disposition  requires  checks.  The  Senate  of  New  York, 
although  chosen  for  four  years,  wre  have  found  to  be  ineffi- 
cient. Will,  on  the  Virginia  plan,  a continuance  of  seven 
years  do  it  ? It  is  admitted  that  you  cannot  have  a good 
executive  upon  a democratic  plan.  See  the  excellency  of 
the  British  executive.  He  is  above  temptation — he  can 
have  no  distinct  interest  from  the  public  welfare.  Nothing 
short  of  such  an  executive  can  be  efficient.  The  weak  side 
of  a republican  government  is  the  danger  of  foreign  influence. 
This  is  unavoidable,  unless  it  is  so  constructed  as  to  bring 
forward  its  first  characters  in  its  support.  I am,  therefore, 
for  a general  government,  yet  would  wish  to  go  the  full  length 
of  the  republican  principle. 

Let  one  body  of  the  legislature  be  constituted  during 
good  behavior,  or  life. 

Let  one  executive  be  appointed,  who  dares  execute  his 
powers.  It  may  be  asked,  Is  this  a republican  system  ? 
It  is  strictly  so,  as  long  as  they  remain  elective. 

And  let  me  observe,  that  an  executive  is  less  dangerous 


08 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


to  the  liberties  of  the  people,  when  in  office  during  life, 
than  for  seven  years. 

It  may  be  said  this  constitutes  an  elective  monarchy. 
Pray  what  is  a monarch  ? May  not  the  governors  of  the 
respective  States  be  considered  in  that  light?  But  by 
making  the  executive  subject  to  impeachment,  the  term 
monarch  cannot  apply.  These  elective  monarchs  have 
produced  tumults  in  Rome,  and  are  equally  dangerous  to 
peace  in  Poland  ; but  this  cannot  apply  to  the  mode  in 
which  I propose  the  election.  Let  electors  be  appointed 
in  each  of  the  States,  to  elect  the  legislature,  to  consist  of 
two  branches  ; and  I would  give  them  the  power  of  passing 
all  laws,  without  exception.  The  assembly  to  be  elected 
for  three  years,  by  the  people,  in  districts  ; the  senate  to 
be  elected  by  electors,  to  be  chosen  for  that  purpose  by  the 
people,  and  to  remain  in  office  during  life.  The  executive 
to  have  the  power  of  negativing  all  law's ; to  make  war  or 
peace,  with  the  advice  of  the  senate  ; to  make  treaties, 
with  their  advice  ; but  to  have  the  sole  directions  in  all 
military  operations,  and  to  send  ambassadors,  and  appoint 
all  military  officers,  and  to  pardon  all  offenders,  treason  ex- 
cepted, unless  by  the  advice  of  the  senate.  On  his  death, 
or  removal,  the  president  of  the  senate  to  officiate,  with 
the  same  pow'ers,  until  another  is  elected.  Supreme  ju- 
dicial officers  to  be  appointed  by  the  executive  and  the 
senate.  The  legislature  to  appoint  courts  in  each  state, 
so  as  to  make  the  State  government  unnecessary  to  it. 

All  State  laws  to  be  absolutely  void,  which  contravene 
the  general  laws.  An  officer  appointed  in  each  State  to 
have  a negative  on  all  law's.  All  the  militia,  and  the  ap- 
pointment of  officers,  to  be  under  the  national  govern- 
ment. 

I confess  that  this  plan,  and  that  from  Virginia,  are 
very  remote  from  the  idea  of  the  people  ; perhaps  the  Jer- 
sey plan  is  nearest  their  expectation.  But  the  people  are 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


69 


gradually  ripening  in  their  opinions  of  government — they 
begin  to  be  tired  of  an  excess  of  democracy — and  what 
even  is  the  Virginia  plan,  but  pork  still,  with  a little 
change  of  the  sauce  ? 

The  following  is  Mr.  Hamilton’s  plan  : 

“ 1.  The  supreme  legislative  power  of  the  United  States 
of  America  to  be  vested  in  two  different  bodies  of  men  ; 
the  one  to  be  called  the  assembly,  the  other  the  senate  ; 
who,  together,  shall  form  the  legislature  of  the  United 
States,  with  power  to  pass  all  laws  whatsoever,  subject  to 
the  negative  hereafter  mentioned. 

“2.  The  assembly  to  consist  of  persons  elected  by  the 
people,  to  serve  for  three  years. 

“3.  The  senate  to  consist  of  persons  elected  to  serve 
during  good  behavior ; their  election  to  be  made  by  elect- 
ors chosen  for  that  purpose  by  the  people.  In  order  to 
this,  the  states  to-  be  divided  into  election  districts.  On 
the  death,  removal,  or  resignation  of  any  senator,  h-.s  place 
to  be  filled  out  of  the  district  from  which  he  came. 

“4.  The  supreme  executive  authority  of  the  United 
States  to  be  vested  in  a governor,  to  be  elected  .o  serve 
during  good  behavior  ; the  election  to  be  made  by  electors 
chosen  by  the  people  in  the  election  districts  aforesaid. 
The  authorities  and  functions  of  the  executive  to  be  as  fol- 
lows : To  have  a negative  on  all  laws  about  to  be  passed, 
and  the  execution  of  all  laws  passed  ; to  have  the  direction 
of  war  when  authorized  or  begun  ; to  have,  with  the  ad- 
vice and  approbation  of  the  senate,  the  power  ot  making 
all  treaties ; to  have  the  sole  appointment  of  the  heads  or 
chief  officers  of  the  departments  of  finance,  war,  and  foreign 
affairs  ; to  have  the  nomination  of  all  other  officers,  (am- 
bassadors to  foreign  nations  included,)  subject  to  the  ap- 
probation or  rejection  of  the  senate  ; to  have  the  power  of 
pardoning  all  offenses  except  treason,  which  he  shall  not 
pardon  without  the  approbation  of  the  senate. 


70 


THE  FEDERAL  CONTENTION. 


“ 5.  On  the  death,  resignation,  or  removal  of  the  gov- 
ernor, his  authorities  to  be  exercised  by  the  president  of 
the  senate  till  a successor  be  appointed. 

“ 6.  The  senate  to  have  the  sole  power  of  declaring  war  ; 
the  power  of  advising  and  approving  all  treaties  ; the 
power  of  approving  or  rejecting  all  appointments  of  officers, 
except  the  heads  or  chiefs  of  the  departments  of  finance, 
war,  and  foreign  affairs. 

“ 7.  The  supreme  judicial  authority  to  be  vested  in 
judges,  to  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  with  ad- 
equate and  permanent  salaries.  This  court  to  have  original 
jurisdiction  in  all  causes  of  capture,  and  an  appellative 
jurisdiction  in  all  causes  in  which  the  revenues  of  the  gen- 
eral government,  or  the  citizens  of  foreign  nations,  are 
concerned. 

“ 8.  The  legislature  of  the  United  States  to  have  power 
to  institute  courts  in  each  state  for  the  determination  of  all 
matters  of  general  concern. 

“ 9.  The  governor,  senators,  and  all  officers  of  the  United 
States,  to  be  liable  to  impeachment  for  mal  and  corrupt 
conduct ; and,  upon  conviction,  to  be  removed  from  office, 
and  disqualified  for  holding  any  place  of  trust  or  profit ; 
all  impeachments  to  be  tried  by  a court  to  consist  of  the 

chief  , or  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  law  of  each 

State,  provided  such  judge  shall  hold  bis  place  during  good 
behavior,  and  have  a permanent  salary. 

“ 10.  All  laws  of  the  particular  States  contrary  to  the 
Constitution  or  laws  of  the  United  States,  to  be  utterly 
void  ; and,  the  better  to  prevent  such  laws  being  passed, 
the  governor  or  president  of  each  State  shall  be  appointed 
by  the  general  government,  and  shall  have  a negative  upon 
the  laws  about  to  be  passed  in  the  State  of  which  he  is  the 
governor  or  president. 

“ 11.  No  State  to  have  any  forces,  land  or  naval ; and 
the  militia  of  all  the  States  to  be  under  the  sole  and  exclu- 


THE  FEDERAL  CONTENTION-. 


71 


sive  direction  of  the  United  States,  the  officers  of  which  to 
be  appointed  and  commissioned  by  them.” 

June  20.  Hon.  William  Blount,  from  North  Carolina, 
took  his  seat. 

Mr.  Lansing-  moved  “that  the  power  of  legislation  be 
vested  in  the  United  States  in  Congress.”  This  proposi- 
tion was  discussed  all  day.  It  was  adopted, 

June  21.  Hon.  Jonathan  Dayton,  of  New  Jersey,  took 
his  seat. 

The  second  resolution — “ that  the  legislature  shall  con- 
sist of  two  branches,”  was  taken  up  and  discussed  by 
Dr.  Johnson,  Mr.  Wilson  and  Mr.  Madison,  and  was 
adopted. 

Gen.  Pinckney  moved  that  the  first  branch  should  be 
elected  in  such  manner  as  the  State  legislatures  should 
direct.  This  was  opposed  by  Mr.  Mason,  Mr.  Sherman 
and  others,  who  advocated  election  by  the  people.  The 
motion  was  lost. 

On  the  original  question  of  election  of  the  first  branch  by 
the  people,  it  was  carried, — -New  Jersey  alone  voting  No, 
and  Maryland  divided. 

On  the  question  that  the  members  should  be  elected  for 
three  years,  Mr.  Randolph  moved  to  amend  by  substituting 
“ two  year’s.” 

Mr.  Wilson  preferred  annual  elections,  as  likely  to  make 
the  representative  feel  his  dependence  upon  his  constituents. 

Mr.  Madison  thought  annual  elections,  or  even  biennial, 
would  be  too  great  a burden  upon  the  people,  and  attended 
with  much  inconvenience. 

Col.  Hamilton  was  for  three  years,  and  on  the  question, 
the  amendment  for  twro  years  was  agreed  to. 

June  22.  The  question  of  compensation  of  members, 
their  age,  and  eligibility,  was  discussed  this  and  the  day 
following. 

June  25.  The  fourth  resolution,  “ that  the  members  of 


72 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION 


the  second  branch  (Senate)  ought  to  be  chosen  by  the 
State  Legislatures  and  hold  their  office  seven  years,”  was 
taken  up. 

Mr.  Pinckney  advocated  the  resolution.  He  thought 
there  should  be  one  branch  removed  from  the  influences  to 
be  apprehended  from  the  fluctuations  of  the  popular  pas- 
sions. The  States,  too,  should  be  guaranteed  some  protec- 
tion for  their  sovereignty,  otherwise  the  State  governments 
would  be  overborne  by  the  national  government. 

Mr.  Wilson  opposed  election  by  the  legislatures  as  likely 
to  foster  local  pride  and  prejudices. 

On  the  question  to  elect  by  the  State  legislatures,  it  was 
agreed  to,  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  only  voting  No. 

It  was  then  agreed  that  no  person  should  be  eligible  for 
senator  till  he  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  thirty  years. 

June  26.  The  term  of  office  for  senators  being  under 
consideration, 

Mr.  Gorham  moved  six  years.  Mr.  Pinckney  was  in 
favor  of  four  years.  Mr.  Read  favored  nine  years. 

Mr.  Madison  said  that  we  are  now  digesting  a plan 
.which  in  its  operations  will  decide  forever  the  fate  of 
republican  government.  We  ought  therefore  to  provide 
every  possible  guard  and  check  to  liberty.  Those  charged 
with  the  public  happiness  may  betray  their  trust.  Prudence 
would  dictate  that  we  should  so  organize  that  one  body 
might  watch  and  check  the  other.  We  should  select  a 
limited  number  of  enlightened  citizens,  whose  firmness 
might  be  interposed  against  impetuous  counsels. 

Mr.  Hamilton  concurred  with  Mr.  Madison.  On  the 
question  for  nine  years  it  was  lost ; and  on  the  question  for 
six  years  it  was  agreed  to. 

On  the  question  of  compensation,  Mr.  Pinckney  proposed 
that  the  senators  should  receive  no  pay,  as  that  branch  was 
designed  to  represent  the  wealth  of  the  country,  and  it 
should  be  so  ordered  that  none  but  the  wealthy  could  take 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


73 


that  office.  Dr.  Franklin  seconded  the  motion.  The  mo- 
tion was  lost.  Ayes  5,  Noes  6. 

It  was  then  moved  that  the  senators  be  paid  by  their 
respective  States.  Lost.  And  on  the  question  that  they 
be  paid  out  of  the  national  treasury,  it  was  lost. 

June  27.  On  the  seventh  resolution,  that  the  right  of 
suffrage  in  the  first  branch  should  be  according  to  an 
equitable  ratio. 

Mr.  Martin  contended  with  great  zeal  that  the  general 
government  was  meant  to  preserve  the  State  governments 
merely,  and  not  to  govern  individuals  ; and  that  its  powers 
ought,  therefore,  to  be  kept  in  very  narrow  limits.  That 
to  give  representation  according  to  population  would  place 
it  in  the  power  of  the  large  States  to  crush  out  the  small 
ones.  The  vote  should  be  by  States  and  then  all  would 
stand  upon  the  same  platform  of  equality. 

June,  28.  Mr.  Madison  replied  to  Mr.  Martin’s  speech 
on  representation,  and  in  a lengthy  argument  advocated  repre- 
sentation in  the  first  branch  (House)  according  to  the  popula- 
tion. The  debate  .lasted  two  days  during  which  much  angry 
feeling  was  manifested.  The  small  States  were  determined 
that  no  provision  should  pass  that  did  not  give  them  an 
equal  vote  with  the  large  States.  Some  idea  of  the  difficul- 
ties encountered  at  this  time  may  be  gathered  from  a speech 
of  Dr.  Franklin  near  the  close  of  the  second  day’s  proceed- 
ings. We  copy  it  entire  : 

Dr.  Franklin. — Mr.  President : The  small  progress  we 
have  made  after  four  or  five  weeks’  close  attendance  and 
continued  reasonings  with  each  other — our  different  senti- 
ments on  almost  every  question,  several  of  the  last  produc- 
ing as  many  noes  as  ayes — is,  methinks,  a melancholy  proof 
of  the  imperfection  of  the  human  understanding.  We,  in- 
deed, seem  to  feel  our  own  want  of  political  wisdom,  since 
we  have  been  running  about  in  search  of  it.  We  have  gone 


74 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


back  to  ancient  history  for  models  of  government,  and  ex- 
amined the  different  forms  of  those  republics  which,  having 
been  formed  with  the  seeds  of  their  own  dissolution,  now 
no  longer  exist.  And  we  have  viewed  modern  States  all 
round  Europe,  but  find  none  of  their  constitutions  suitable 
to  our  circumstances. 

In  this  situation  of  this  assembly,  groping  as  it  were  in  the 
dark  to  find  political  truth,  and  scarce  able  to  perceive  it 
when  presented  to  us,  how  has  it  happened,  sir,  that  we  have 
not  hitherto  once  thought  of  humbly  applying  to  the  Father 
of  lights  to  illuminate  our  understandings  ? In  the  be- 
ginning of  the  contest  with  Great  Britain,  when  we  were 
sensible  of  danger,  we  had  daily  prayer  in  this  room  for  the 
Divine  protection.  Our  prayers,  sir,  were  heard,  and  they 
were  graciously  answered.  All  of  us  who  were  engaged  in 
the  struggle  must  have  observed  frequent  instances  of  a su- 
perintending Providence  in  our  favor. 

To  that  kind  Providence  we  owe  this  happy  opportunity  of 
consulting  in  peace  on  the  means  of  establishing  our  future  na- 
tional felicity.  And  have  we  now  forgotten  that  powerful 
friend  ? Or  do  we  imagine  that  we  no  longer  need  his  assist- 
ance ? I have  lived,  sir,  a long  time,  and  the  longer  I live  the 
more  convincing  proofs  I see  of  this  truth — that  God  governs 
in  the  affairs  of  man.  And  if  a sparrow  cannot  fall  to  the 
ground  without  his  notice,  is  it  probable  that  an  empire 
can  rise  without  his  aid  ? We  have  been  answered,  sir,  in 
the  sacred  writings,  that  “except  the  Lord  build  the  house, 
they  labor  in  vain  that  build  it.”  I firmly  believe  this  ; 
and  I also  firmly  believe  this,  that  without  his  concurring 
aid  we  shall  succeed,  in  this  political  building,  no  better 
than  the  builders  of  Babel.  We  shall  be  divided  by  our 
little  partial  local  interests  ; our  projects  will  be  confounded  ; 
and  we  shall  ourselves  become  a reproach  and  by-word  down 
to  future  ages.  And,  what  is  worse,  mankind  may  hereafter, 
from  this  unfortunate  instance,  despair  of  establishing 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION-. 


75 


governments  by  human  wisdom,  and  leave  it  to  chance,  war, 
and  conquest. 

I therefore  beg  leave  to  move  that  henceforth  prayers, 
imploring  the  assistance  of  Heaven  and  its  blessings  on  onr 
deliberations,  be  held  in  this  assembly  every  morning  before 
we  proceed  to  business,  and  that  one  or  more  of  the  clergy 
of  this  city  be  requested  to  officiate  in  that  service. 

Mr.  Sherman  seconded  the  motion. 

Mr.  Hamilton  was  fearful  that  if  the  motion  should  be 
adopted  it  would  alarm  the  people,  who  would  think  that 
some  extraordinary  emergency  had  arisen  in  the  Conven- 
tion. It  would  have  been  well  to  have  adopted  such  a mo- 
tion at  the  beginning  of  the  session. 

Mr.  Randolph  proposed  that  a sermon  be  preached 
on  the  fourth  of  July,  and  after  that  prayers.  An  ad- 
journment was  finally  carried  without  a vote  by  ayes  and 
nays. 

June  29. — Dr.  Johnson  said  this  controversy  seemed 
endless.  On  the  one  side  the  States  were  considered  as 
districts  of  people,  and  hence  entitled  to  representation  ac- 
cording to  their  numbers ; on  the  other  side  it  was  con- 
tended that  they  were  political  societies,  and  hence  each 
should  be  represented  equally.  He  suggested  that  each 
side  was  partially  right,  and  that  therefore  the  true  ground 
was  a compromise;  let  one  branch  represent  exclusively 
the  people  and  the  other  (the  Senate)  represent  the 
States. 

Mr.  Madison  agreed  with  Dr.  Johnson,  that  the  mixed 
nature  of  the  government  ought  to  be  kept  in  view.  He 
made  a lengthy  speech  in  favor  of  this  proposition.  The 
debate  was  continued  through  the  day,  and  it  was  finally 
agreed  that  the  representation  should  be  according  to  the 
ratio  of  inhabitants. 

June  30. — Mr.  Brearly  moved  that  the  President  write 
to  the  Executive  of  New  Hampshire  requesting  the  iinme- 


76 


THE  FEDEKAL  CONVENTION. 


diate  attendance  of  the  delegates  from  that  S'.ate,  as  the 
difficulties  of  the  Convention  are  such,  that  they  wanted  all 
the  aid  possible.  Not  agreed  to. 

Mr.  Ellsworth  moved  that  each  State  be  allowed  an 
equal  vote  in  the  second  branch,  and  supported  his  motion 
by  a lengthy  argument. 

Mr.  Wilson  opposed  the  motion.  He  said  we  were 
forming  a government  for  men , not  for  imaginary  States. 

Mr.  Madison  thought  the  difficulty  was  not  between  the 
large  and  small  States,  but  really  between  the  States  having 
slaves  and  those  not  having,  or  expecting  soon  not  to  have 
slaves.  He  thought  a fair  compromise  would  be  to  have 
one  branch  l'epresented  according  to  the  number  of  free 
inhabitants  only,  and  the  other  represented  by  the  whole, 
counting  the  slaves  as  freemen,  instead  of  counting  them 
as  five  to  three.  By  this  arrangement  the  southern  scale 
would  have  the  advantage  in  one  House  and  the  northern 
in  the  other. 

Dr.  Franklin  thought  “both  sides  must  part  with  some  of 
their  demands.” 

The  discussion  was  continued  through  the  day  without 
arriving  at  any  conclusion. 

July  2. — On  the  question  allowing  each  State  one  vote 
in  the  second  branch  it  was  lost.  Ayes  5.  Noes  5. 

General  Pinckney  proposed  that  a committee  of  one  from 
each  State  should  be  appointed  to  devise  and  report  a com- 
promise. 

Mr.  Morris  favored  a committee.  He  said  the  object  of 
the  second  branch  was  to  check  the  excesses  of  the  first 
branch.  He  thought  it  must  be  a branch  of  property 
interest,  and  must  also  be  permanent  in  order  to  give  sta- 
bility to  the  government.  Without  it  the  country  would 
have  no  confidence  in  the  plan.  Loaves  and  fishes 
would  bribe  demagogues.  Give  us  a senate  for  life,  with- 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


77 


oat  pay,  and  we  will  have  an  honest  and  conservative 
branch. 

Mr.  Madison  opposed  the  committee.  It  was  discussed 
at  length,  and  on  the  question,  nine  States  voted  Aye.  New 
Jersey  and  Delaware  voted  No. 

The  committee  was  elected  by  ballot,  and  was  composed 
of  Messrs.  Gerry,  Ellsworth,  Tates,  Patterson,  Dr.  Eranklin, 
Bedford,  Martin,  Mason,  Davie,  Rutledge  and  Baldwin.  To 
give  the  committee  time  to  deliberate,  the  Convention  ad- 
journed till  Thursday  the  5th. 

July  5.  Mr.  Gerry,  from  the  committee  appointed  on 
Monday  last,  made  the  following  report : 

1.  That  in  the  first  branch  each  State  shall  be  allowed 
one  member  for  every  forty  thousand  inhabitants,  counting 
all  free  persons  and  three-fifths  of  the  slaves,  and  that  all 
money  bills,  or  bills  fixing  salaries  of  public  officers,  shall 
originate  in  the  first  branch,  and  shall  not  be  altered  or 
amended  by  the  second  branch. 

2.  That  in  the  second  branch  each  State  shall  have  an 
equal  vote. 

[ATofe. — This  report  was  considered  as  a compromise  be- 
tween the  large  and  small  States.  The  large  States  were 
apprehensive  that  by  allowing  the  small  ones  an  equal 
representation  in  the  Senate,  they  might,  by  combination, 
vote  undue  burdens  upon  them  in  the  way  of  appropria- 
tions of  the  public  money.  Hence,  the  arrangement  that 
money  bills  shall  originate  in  the  House  where  the  repre- 
sentation is  in  accordance  with  the  ratio  of  inhabitants,  thus 
protecting  the  large  States  in  that  branch,  while  the  small 
States  find  their  protection  in  the  Senate,  where  they  have 
an  equal  representation.  How  admirable  the  arrangement! 
How  beautifully  ordered  by  our  fathers  for  the  protection  of 
the  rights  of  the  whole  Hnion,  is  this  model  constitution — 
the  perfection  of  governmental  excellence — the  sum  total 
of  the  wisdom  of  ages  in  the  science  of  self-governmeut ! 


78 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


This  report  was  founded  on  a motion  made,  in  the  com- 
mittee, by  Dr.  Franklin.] 

Mr.  Madison  did  not  consider  the  concession  of  the  small 
States  that  the  House  should  originate  all  money  bills  aa 
of  much  moment.  He  said  the  senators  could  get  ths 
members  of  the  House  to  adopt  their  notions  by  handing 
them  amendments,  and  thus  avoid  the  check  that  this  clause 
was  designed  to  afford.  He  thought  we  should  form  a 
government  on  just  principles,  and  the  small  States  would 
find  it  to  their  interest  to  adopt  it. 

A long  debate  ensued,  participated  in  by  Messrs.  Morris, 
Bedford,  Ellsworth,  Mason,  Rutledge  and  others,  and  with- 
out the  question  the  Convention  adjourned. 

July  6.  Mr.  Morris  moved  to  commit  so  much  of  the 
report  as  relates  to  one  member  to  every  forty  thousand  in- 
habitants to  a committee  of  five,  which  was  agreed  to. 

The  clause  relating  to  an  equality  of  votes  in  the  Senate 
being  under  consideration,  it  was  postponed,  and  the  clause 
relating  to  money  bills  taken  up.  After  some  discussion 
it  was  agreed  to. 

July  7.  The  clause  allowing  each  State  one  vote  in  the 
Senate  being  up,  after  a long  and  zealous  discussion,  it  was 
postponed  until  the  committee  of  five,  on  the  number  of 
members  in  the  first  branch,  should  report. 

July  9.  Daniel  Carroll,  of  Maryland,  took  his  seat. 

Mr.  Morris,  from  the  committee  of  five,  reported  that 
the  House  should  at  first  consist  of  forty-six  members. 
New  Hampshire,  two  ; Massachusetts,  seven  ; Rhode  Is- 
land, one  ; Connecticut,  four;  New  York,  five  ; New  Jersey, 
three  ; Pennsylvania,  eight;  Delaware,  one  ; Maryland,  four; 
Virginia,  nine;  North  Carolina,  five;  South  Carolina,  five; 
Georgia,  two  ; and  that  Congress  should  alter  the  number 
from  time  to  time,  as  it  should  think  proper. 

Mr.  Patterson  thought  the  proposed  estimate  for  the 
future  too  vague.  He  could  regard  negro  slaves  in  no 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


79 


light  but  property.  They  were  not  represented  in  the 
State  governments,  and  hence  should  not  be  in  the  rational 
government. 

Mr.  Madison  suggested  as  a compromise,  that  in  the 
House  the  representation  should  be  according  to  the  num- 
ber of  free  inhabitants  ; that  the  Senate  was  designed,  in 
one  respect,  to  be  the  guardian  of  property,  and  that  branch 
should  represent  slaves  and  all.  After  some  further  dis- 
cussion, the  first  clause  of  the  report  was  referred  to  a com- 
mittee of  one  from  each  State. 

July  10.  Mr.  King,  from  the  committee  appointed 
yesterday,  reported  that  the  House  should  consist  of  sixty  - 
five  members.  After  a long  and  animated  discussion  the 
report  was  adopted.  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  alone 
voting  No. 

July  11.  Mr.  Randolph’s  motion,  requiring  a census  to 
be  taken  in  order  to  correct  inequalities  in  representation  * 
was  taken  up. 

Mr.  Butler  and  Gen.  Pinckney  insisted  that  blacks  should 
have  an  equal  representation  with  the  whites,  and  therefore 
moved  that  “ three-fifths”  be  struck  out. 

Mr.  Gerry,  and  Mr.  Gorham,  favored  three-fifths. 

Mr.  Butler,  said  the  labor  of  a slave  in  South  Carolina, 
was  as  valuable  as  that  of  a freeman  in  Massachussets. 
Free  negroes  in  the  North,  have  an  equal  representa- 
tion with  the  whites.  So  should  the  slaves  of  the  South 
have. 

Mr.  Williamson,  said  that  the  Eastern  States  contended 
for  the  equality  of  blacks  where  taxation  was  in  view,  they 
ought  then  to  be  willing  to  allow  an  equal  representation. 

On  the  question,  Mr.  Butler’s  motion  was  lost,  only  Dela- 
ware, South  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  voting  Aye. 

Mr.  Morris,  said  that  if  slaves  were  to  be  considered  as 
inhabitants,  not  as  wealth,  then  there  would  be  no  use  for 


80 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


a census,  so  far  as  they  were  concerned  ; if  simply  as  wealth, 
then  why  not  other  wealth  be  included  ? 

Mr.  Sherman,  was  in  favor  of  leaving  the  whole  matter 
to  the  discretion  of  the  legislature. 

Mr.  Morris,  said  that  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  would 
revolt  at  the  idea  of  being  placed  on  a level  with  slaves 
in  representation.  They  would  reject  any  plan  in  which 
slaves  were  included  in  the  census. 

On  the  question  of  taking  a census  of  free  inhabitants,  it 
passed  in  the  affirmative. 

The  next  clause,  as  to  three-fifths  of  the  negroes,  being 
considered,  Mr.  King  opposed  the  clause.  He  thought  the 
admission  of  blacks  in  the  representation  would  excite  great 
discontents  among  the  people. 

Mr.  Gorham,  of  Massachusetts,  favored  the  three-fifths 
rule. 

Mr.  Wilson,  of  Pennsylvania,  said  if  negroes  were  pro- 
perty, why  not  represent  other  property  ? — if  they  were 
citizens,  why  not  let  them  be  represented  as  such  ? 

Mr.  Morris,  thought  that  representation  for  blacks  would 
.encourage  the  slave  trade. 

On  the  question  for  including  “three-fifths”  of  the  blacks, 
it  was  lost.  All  the  Northern  States,  except  Connecticut, 
voted  No. 

July  12.  Mr.  Morris,  moved  “that  taxation  be  in  pro- 
portion to  representation.” 

Dr.  Johnson  thought  population  the  best  measure  of 
wealth,  and  therefore,  would  include  the  blacks  equally 
with  the  whites. 

Mr.  Morris,  thought  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  could 
never  agree  to  a representation  of  negroes. 

Gen.  Pinckney,  desired  that  property  in  slaves  should  be 
protected  and  not  left  exposed  to  danger. 

Mr.  Ellsworth,  moved  that  the  rule  of  taxation  shall  be 


THE  FEDERAL  CONTENTION. 


81 


according  to  the  whole  number  of  white  inhabitants  and 
three-fifths  of  every  other  description,  until  some  other  rale, 
by  which  the  wealth  of  the  States  can  be  ascertained,  shall 
be  adopted  by  the  legislature. 

Mr.  Randolph  opposed  this  amendment.  He  urged 
that  express  security  ought  to  be  provided  for  including 
slaves  in  representation.  He  lamented  that  such  property 
existed  ; but  as  it  did  exist,  the  holders  of  it  should  require 
this  security  in  the  Constitution  and  not  leave  it  to  the 
caprice  of  the  legislative  body. 

Mr.  Wilson  thought  there  would  be  less  umbrage  taken 
by  the  people  by  adopting  the  rule  of  representation  accord- 
ing to  taxation.  The  slaves  would  be  taxed  and  thus  indi- 
rectly represented. 

Mr.  Pinckney  moved  to  amend  so  as  to  make  blacks 
equal  to  whites  in  representation.  He  said  the  blacks 
would  be  all  numbered  in  the  representation  of  the  North, 
and  they  were  as  productive  in  material  resources  to  the 
country  in  the  South  as  in  the  North.  He  thought  this  no 
more  than  justice. 

On  Mr.  Pinckney’s  motion,  only  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia  voted  Aye. 

On  the  question  apportioning  representation  to  direct 
taxation,  to  the  whole  of  the  white  and  three-fifths  of  the 
black  population,  Connecticut,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Georgia  voted  Aye;  New 
Jersey  and  Delaware  voted  No  ; Massachusetts  and  South 
Carolina  divided. 

July  14.  From  this  date  till  the  lTth,  the  Convention 
was  engaged  in  an  animated  discussion  on  the  equality  of 
vote*  in  the  Senate  from  each  State.  On  the  16th  a mo- 
tion was  made  to  adjourn  sine  die,  on  the  ground  that  the 
Convention  could  never  agree  to  the  exactions  of  the 
smaller  States.  An  equality  vote  was,  however,  agreed  to. 
North  Carolina  and  Massachusetts  divided  ; 5 Ayes,  4 Noes. 

6 


82 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


July  17.  The  Convention  proceeded  to  the  considera- 
tion of  a resolution  concerning  the  two  branches  of  the 
legislature,  and  from  this  date  till  the  26th  was  engaged  in 
discussing  the  executive,  legislative,  and  judicial  branches 
of  the  government.  Nothing,  however,  was  elicited  that 
would  properly  come  within  the  scope  of  this  work,  or  that 
would  be  particularly  interesting  to  the  general  reader. 

On  the  26th,  the  resolutions  of  Mr.  Randolph  having 
been  a second  time  gone  through  with,  they,  together  with 
those  of  Messrs.  Patterson  and  Pinckney,  were  referred  to 
the  Committee  of  Detail,  and  the  Convention  adjourned  till 
August  6th,  to  give  the  Committee  time  to  prepare  and 
report  a Constitution. 

The  resolutions  as  committed,  expressing  the  sense  of  the 
Convention  upon  the  principles  of  a Constitution,  were  as 
follows : 

1.  Resolved,  That  the  government  of  the  United  States 
ought  to  consist  of  a supreme  legislative,  judiciary,  and 
executive. 

2.  Resolved,  That  the  legislature  consist  of  two  branches. 

3.  Resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  first  branch  of  the 
legislature  ought  to  be  elected  by  the  people  of  the  several 
States  for  the  term  of  two  years ; to  be  paid  out  of  the 
public  treasury ; to  receive  an  adequate  compensation  for 
their  services  ; to  be  of  the  age  of  twenty-five  years  at 
least;  to  be  ineligible  to,  and  incapable  of  holding,  any 
office  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States  (except 
those  peculiarly  belonging  to  the  functions  of  the  first 
branch)  during  the  term  of  service  of  the  first  branch. 

4.  Resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  second  branch  of 
the  legislature  of  the  United  States  ought  to  be  chosen  by 
the  individual  legislatures  ; to  be  of  the  age  of  thirty  years 
at  least ; to  hold  their  offices  for  six  years,  one  third  to  go 
out  biennially  ; to  receive  a compensation  for  the  devotion 
of  their  time  to  the  public  service ; to  be  ineligible  to,  and 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


83 


incapable  of  holding,  any  office  under  the  authority  of  the 
United  States  (except  those  peculiarly  belonging  to  the 
functions  of  the  second  branch)  during  the  term  for  which 
they  are  elected,  and  for  one  year  thereafter. 

5.  Resolved,  That  each  branch  ought  to  possess  the 
right  of  originating  acts. 

6.  Resolved,  That  the  national  legislature  ought  to 
possess  the  legislative  rights  vested  in  Congress  by  the 
Confederation;  and,  moreover,  to  legislate  in  all  cases  for 
the  general  interests  of  the  Union,  and  also  in  those  to 
which  the  States  are  separately  incompetent,  or  in  which 
the  harmony  of  the  United  States  may  be  interrupted  by 
the  exercise  of  individual  legislation. 

7.  Resolved,  That  the  legislative  acts  of  the  United 
States,  made  by  virtue  and  in  pursuance  of  the  articles  of 
union,  and  all  treaties  made  and  ratified  under  the  authority 
of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the 
respective  States,  as  far  as  those  acts  or  treaties  shall  relate 
to  the  said  States,  or  their  citizens  and  inhabitants ; and 
that  the  judiciaries  of  the  several  States  shall  be  bound 
thereby  in  their  decisions,  any  thing  in  the  respective  laws 
of  the  individual  States  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

8.  Resolved,  That  in  the  general  formation  of  the  legis- 
lature of  the  United  States,  the  first  branch  thereof  shall 
consist  of  sixty-five  members;  of  which  number,  New 
Hampshire  shall  send  3 ; Massachusetts,  8 ; Rhode  Island, 
1;  Connecticut,  5;  New  York,  6;  New  Jersey,  4;  Penn- 
sylvania, 8 ; Delaware,  1 ; Maryland,  6 ; Virginia,  10;  North 
Carolina,  5 ; South  Carolina,  5 ; Georgia,  3. 

But,  as  the  present  situation  of  the  States  may  probably 
alter  in  the  number  of  their  inhabitants,  the  legislature  of 
the  United  States  shall  be  authorized,  from  time  to  time,  to 
apportion  the  number  of  representatives  ; and  in  case  any 
of  the  States  shall  hereafter  be  divided,  or  enlarged  by 
addition  of  territory,  or  any  two  or  more  States  united,  or 


£4 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


acy  new  States  created  within  the  limits  of  the  United 
States,  the  legislature  of  the  United  States  shall  possess 
authority  to  regulate  the  number  of  representatives,  in  any 
of  the  foregoing  cases,  upon  the  principle  of  their  number 
cJ  inhabitants,  according  to  the  provisions  hereafter  men- 
tioned, namely — Provided  always,  that  representation  ought 
to  be  proportioned  to  direct  taxation.  And,  in  order  to 
fscertain  the  alteration  in  the  direct  taxation  which  may  be 
required  from  time  to  time,  by  the  changes  in  the  relative 
t Ircumstances  of  the  States, — 

9.  Resolved,  That  a census  be  taken  within  six  years 
from  the  first  meeting  of  the  legislature  of  the  United 
i tates,  and  once  within  the  term  of  every  ten  years  after- 
wards, of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States,  in  the 
Ejanner  and  according  to  the  ratio  recommended  by  Con- 
gress in  their  resolution  of  the  18th  of  April,  1183;  and 
that  the  legislature  of  the  United  States  shall  proportion 
the  direct  taxation  accordingly. 

10.  Resolved,  That  all  bills  for  raising  or  appropriating 
money,  and  for  fixing  the  salaries  of  the  officers  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  shall  originate  in  the 
first  branch  of  the  legislature  of  the  United  States,  and 
shall  not  be  altered  or  amended  by  the  second  branch  ; and 
that  no  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  public  treasury, 
but  in  pursuance  of  appropriations  to  be  originated  by  the 
first  branch. 

11.  Resolved,  That,  in  the  second  branch  of  the  legisla- 
ture of  the  United  States,  each  State  shall  have  an  equal 
vote. 

12.  Resolved,  That  a national  executive  be  instituted,  to 
consist  of  a single  person  ; to  be  chosen  by  the  national 
legislature  for  the  term  of  seven  years ; to  be  ineligible  a 
second  time  ; with  power  to  carry  into  execution  the 
national  laws ; tc  appoint  to  offices  in  cases  not  otherwise 
provided  for;  to  be  removable  on  impeachment,  and  con- 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION'. 


8£ 


viction  of  malpractice  or  neglect  of  duty  ; to  receive  a 
fixed  compensation  for  the  devotion  of  his  time  to  the  pub- 
lic service,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  public  treasury. 

13.  Resolved,  That  the  national  executive  shall  have  a 
right  to  negative  any  legislative  act ; which  shall  not  be 
afterwards  passed,  unless  by  two-thirds  of  each  branch  of 
the  national  legislature. 

14.  Resolved,  That  a national  judiciary  be  established, 
to  consist  of  one  supreme  tribunal,  the  judges  of  which 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  second  branch  of  the  national 
legislature;  to  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior;  to 
receive  punctually,  at  stated  times,  a fixed  compensation  for 
their  services,  in  which  no  diminution,  shall  be  made  so  as 
to  affect  the  persons  actually  in  office  at  the  time  of  such 
diminution. 

15.  Resolved,  That  the  national  legislature  be  empowered 
to  appoint  inferior  tribunals. 

16.  Resolved,  That  the  jurisdiction  of  the  national  judi- 
ciary shall  extend  to  cases  arising  under  laws  passed  by  the 
general  legislature,  and  to  such  other  questions  as  involve 
the  national  peace  and  harmony. 

17.  Resolved,  That  provision  ought  to  be  made  for  the 
admission  of  States  lawfully  arising  within  the  limits  of  the 
United  States,  whether  from  a voluntary  junction  of  gov- 
ernment and  territory,  or  otherwise,  with  the  consent  of  a 
number  of  voices  in  the  national  legislature  less  than  the 
whole. 

18.  Resolved,  That  a republican  form  of  government 
shall  be  guaranteed  to  each  State  ; and  that  each  State  shall 
be  protected  against  foreign  and  domestic  violence. 

19.  Resolved,  That  provision  ought  to  be  made  for  the 
amendment  of  the  articles  of  union,  whensoever  it  shall 
seem  necessary. 

20.  Resolved,  That  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judi- 
ciary powers,  within  the  several  States,  and  of  the  national 


86 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


government,  ought  to  be  bound,  by  oath,  to  support  the 
articles  of  union. 

21.  Resolved,  That  the  amendments  which  shall  be 
offered  to  the  Confederation  by  the  Convention  ought,  at  a 
proper  time  or  times,  after  the  approbation  of  Congress,  to 
be  submitted  to  an  assembly,  or  assemblies,  of  representa- 
tives, recommended  by  the  several  legislatures,  to  be  ex- 
pressly chosen  by  the  people  to  consider  and  decide 
thereon. 

22.  Resolved,  That  the  representation  in  the  second 
branch  of  the  legislature  of  the  United  States  shall  consist 
of  two  members  from  each  State,  who  shall  vote  per  capita. 

23.  Resolved,  That  it  be  an  instruction  to  the  committee 
to  whom  were  referred  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention 
for  the  establishment  of  a national  government,  to  receive 
a clause,  or  clauses,  requiring  certain  qualifications  of 
property  and  citizenship  in  the  United  States,  for  the 
executive,  the  judiciary,  and  the  members  of  both  branches 
of  the  legislature  of  the  United  States. 

August  6.  Mr.  Rutledge  delivered  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee of  detail,  reporting  a constitution  at  large.  [This 
report  was  so  nearly  like  the  constitution  as  finally  adopted, 
and  as  we  shall  give  that  at  the  close  of  this  chapter,  it  is 
not  thought  necessary  to  occupy  space  by  copying  it  here  ] 

August  7.  The  report  of  the  committee  of  detail  being- 
taken  up,  Mr.  Morris  moved  that  that  the  right  of  suffrage 
be  restrained  to  freeholders.  A long  debate  ensued.  Col. 
Mason  opposed  it  as  leading  to  an  aristocracy. 

Mr.  Madison  was  for  leaving  this  matter  to  the  States. 
Some  States  required  it,  and  others  did  not.  His  own 
opinion  was  that  freeholders  would  be  the  safest  depositaries 
of  liberty.  Those  without  property  might  become  the  tools 
of  the  rich  and  ambitious,  hence  there  would  be  just  the 
same  danger  as  from  the  property  qualification. 

Dr.  Franklin  opposed  the  views  of  Mr.  Madison.  He 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


87 


thought  the  restriction  wrong  in  principle,  and  had  no  doubt 
it  would  create  dissatisfaction  with  the  people. 

On  the  question  of  Mr.  Morris,  only  Delaware  voted  Aye. 
Maryland  divided. 

August  8.  Article  4th,  section  2d,  being  under  conside- 
ration, declaring  that  a member  of  the  House  shall  have 
been  a citizen  of  the  United  States  at  least  three  years  be- 
fore his  election. 

Mr.  Mason  was  for  opening  a wide  door  to  emigrants, 
but  thought  three  years  too  short.  Foreign  nations  might 
impose  upon  us  their  tools,  and  get  them  into  the  legisla- 
ture for  insidious  purposes.  He  moved  seven  years,  which 
was  agreed  to,  only  Connecticut  voting  No. 

Section  4th,  allowing  the  legislatures  to  apportion  the 
representatives  according  to  the  number  of  inhabitants,  was 
taken  up. 

Mr.  Morris  moved  to  insert  “free  inhabitants.”  He  said 
he  would  not  agree  to  a constitution  that  upheld  slavery. 
It  was  the  curse  of  Heaven.  He  proceeded  at  length  to 
demonstrate  the  evils  of  the  institution. 

Mr.  Sherman  said  he  did  not  regard  the  admission  of 
negroes  in  the  ratio  of  representation  as  a great  objection. 
In  fact,  it  was  only  the  freemen  of  the  South  who  would  be 
represented,  because  it  was  only  them  who  paid  the  taxes. 

On  the  question  to  insert  “free  inhabitants,”  it  was  lost, 
only  New  Jersey  voting  Aye. 

August  9.  From  this  date  to  the  18th,  the  Convention 
was  occupied  in  discussing  questions  of  naturalization,  re- 
venue, &c. 

August  18.  Mr.  Madison  submitted  to  be  referred  to  the 
committee  of  detail  the  following  propositions,  to  be  incor- 
porated in  the  powers  of  Congress  : 

“ To  dispose  of  the  unappropriated  lands  of  the  United 
States. 


88 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


“To  institute  temporary  governments  for  new  States 
arising  therein. 

“To  regulate  affairs  with  the  Indians,  &c  ” 

Mr.  Pinckney  also  submitted  several  propositions,  relating 
to  the  seat  of  government,  public  debt,  post-offices,  &c. 
From  this  till  the  22d,  nothing  important  by  way  of  discus- 
sion transpired. 

August  22.  Article  I,  section  4,  was  resumed. 

Mr.  Sherman  was  for  leaving  the  clause  as  it  stands.  He 
disappi’oved  of  the  slave  trade  ; yet,  as  the  States  were  now 
possessed  of  the  right  to  import  slaves,  as  the  public  good 
did  not  require  it  to  be  taken  from  them,  and  as  it  was  ex- 
pedient to  have  as  few  objections  as  possible  to  the  proposed 
scheme  of  government,  he  thought  it  best  to  leave  the  mat- 
ter as  we  find  it.  He  observed  that  the  abolition  of  slavery 
seemed  to  be  going  on  in  the  United  States,  and  that  the 
good  sense  of  the  several  States  would  probably,  by  degrees, 
complete  it.  He  urged  on  the  Convention  the  necessity  of 
dispatching  its  business. 

Col.  Mason.  This  infernal  traffic  originated  in  the  ava- 
, rice  of  British  merchants.  The  British  government  con- 
stantly checked  the  attempts  of  Virginia  to  put  a stop  to  it. 
The  present  question  concerns  not  the  importing  States 
alone,  but  the  whole  Union.  The  evil  of  having  slaves  was 
experienced  during  the  late  war.  Had  slaves  been  treated 
as  they  might  have  been  by  the  enemy,  they  would  have 
proved  dangerous  instruments  in  their  hands.  But  their 
folly  dealt  by  the  slaves  as  it  did  by  the  tories.  He  men- 
tioned the  dangerous  insurrections  of  slaves  in  Greece  and 
Sicily  ; and  the  instructions  given  by  Cromwell,  to  the  com- 
missioners sent  to  Virginia,  to  arm  the  servants  and  slaves 
in  case  other  means  of  obtaining  its  submission  might  fail. 
Maryland  and  Virginia,  he  said,  had  already  prohibited  the 
importation  of  slaves  expressly;  North  Carolina  had  done 
the  same  in  substance.  All  this  would  be  vain,  if  South 


THE  FEHEEAL  CONTENTION. 


89 


Carolina  and  Georgia  be  at  liberty  to  import.  The  western 
people  are  already  calling  out  for  slaves  for  their  new  lands, 
and  will  fill  that  country  with  slaves,  if  they  can  be  got 
through  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  Slavery  discourages 
arts  and  manufactures.  The  poor  despise  labor  when  per- 
formed by  slaves.  They  prevent  the  emigration  of  whites, 
who  really  enrich  and  strengthen  a country.  They  produce 
the  most  pernicious  effect  on  manners.  Every  master  of 
slaves  is  born  a petty  tyrant.  They  bring  the  judgment 
of  Heaven  on  a country.  As  nations  cannot  be  rewarded 
or  punished  in  the  next  world,  they  must  be  in  this.  By 
an  inevitable  chain  of  causes  and  effects,  Providence  pun- 
ishes national  sins  by  national  calamities.  He  lamented 
that  some  of  our  Eastern  brethren  had,  from  a lust  of  gain, 
embarked  in  this  nefarious  traffic.  As  to  the  States  being 
in  possession  of  the  right  to  import,  this  was  the  case  with 
many  other  rights,  now  to  be  properly  given  up.  He  held 
it  essential,  in  every  point  of  view,  that  the  general  govern- 
ment should  have  power  to  prevent  the  increase  of  slavery. 

Mr.  Ellsworth,  as  he  had  never  owned  a slave,  could  not 
judge  of  the  effects  of  slavery  on  character.  He  said,  how- 
ever, that  if  it  was  to  be  considered  in  a moral  light,  we 
ought  to  go  further,  and  free  those  already  in  the  country. 
As  slaves  also  multiply  so  fast  in  Virginia  and  Maryland, 
that  it  is  cheaper  to  raise  than  import  them,  whilst  in  the 
sickly  rice-swamps  foreign  supplies  are  necessary,  if  we  go 
no  further  than  is  urged,  we  shall  be  unjust  toward  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia.  Let  us  not  intermeddle.  As  popu- 
lation increases,  poor  laborers  will  be  so  plenty  as  to  render 
slaves  useless.  Slavery,  in  time,  will  not  be  a speck  in  our 
country.  Provision  is  already  made  in  Connecticut  for 
abolishing  it.  And  the  abolition  has  already  taken  place  in 
Massachusetts.  As  to  the  danger  of  insurrections  from 
foreign  influence,  that  will  become  a motive  to  kind  treat- 
ment of  the  slaves. 


90 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


Mr.  Pinckney.  If  slavery  be  wrong,  it  is  justified  by  the 
example  of  all  the  world.  He  cited  the  case  of  Greece, 
Rome,  and  other  ancient  states ; the  sanction  given  by 
France,  England,  Holland,  and  other  modern  states.  In 
all  ages,  one-half  of  mankind  have  been  slaves.  If  the 
Southern  States  were  let  alone,  they  will  probably  of  them- 
selves stop  importations.  He  would  himself,  as  a citizen 
of  South  Carolina,  vote  for  it.  An  attempt  to  take  away 
the  right,  as  proposed,  will  produce  serious  objections  to 
the  constitution  which  he  wished  to  see  adopted. 

Gen.  Pinckney  declared  it  to  be  his  firm  opinion,  that  if 
himself  and  all  his  colleagues  were  to  sign  the  constitution, 
and  use  their  personal  influence,  it  would  be  of  no  avail 
towards  obtaining  the  assent  of  their  constituents.  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia  cannot  do  without  slaves.  As  to 
Virginia,  she  will  gain  by  stopping  the  importations.  Her 
slaves  will  rise  in  value,  and  she  has  more  than  she  wants. 
It  would  be  unequal  to  require  South  Carolina  and  Georgia 
to  confederate  on  such  unequal  terms.  He  said  the  royal 
assent,  before  the  Revolution,  had  never  been  refused  to 
■South  Carolina  and  Virginia.  He  contended  that  the 
importation  of  slaves  would  be  for  the  interest  of  the  whole 
Union.  The  more  slaves,  the  more  produce  to  employ  the 
carrying  trade ; the  more  consumption  also  ; and  the 
more  of  this,  the  more  revenue  for  the  common  treasury. 
He  admitted  it  to  be  reasonable  that  slaves  should  be 
treated  like  other  imports,  but  should  consider  a rejection 
of  the  clause  as  an  exclusion  of  South  Carolina  from  the 
Union. 

Mr.  Baldwin  had  conceived  national  objects  alone  to  be 
before  the  Convention,  not  such  as,  like  the  present,  were  of 
a local  nature.  Georgia  was  decided  on  this  point.  That 
State  has  always  hitherto  supposed  a general  government 
to  be  the  pursuit  of  the  central  States,  who  wished  to  have 
a vortex  for  every  thing ; that  her  distance  would  preclude 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


91 


her  from  equal  advantage  ; and  that  she  could  not  pru- 
dently purchase  it  by  yielding  national  powers.  From  this 
it  might  be  understood  in  what  light  she  would  view  an 
attempt  to  abridge  one  of  her  favorite  prerogatives.  If 
left  to  herself  she  may  probably  put  a stop  to  the  evil.  As 
one  ground  for  this  conjecture,  he  took  notice  of  the  sect 
of , which  was,  he  said,  a respectable  class  of  peo- 

ple, who  carried  ethics  beyond  the  mere  equality  of  men, 
extending  their  humanity  to  the  claims  of  the  whole  animal 
creation. 

Mr.  Wilson  observed  that,  if  South  Carolina  and  Georgia 
were  themselves  disposed  to  get  rid  of  the  importation  of 
slaves  in  a short  time,  as  had  been  suggested,  they  would 
never  refuse  to  unite  because  the  importation  might  be 
prohibited.  As  the  section  now  stands,  all  articles  im- 
ported are  to  be  taxed.  Slaves  alone  are  exempt.  This  is, 
in  fact,  a bounty  on  that  article. 

Mr.  Gerry  thought  we  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  con- 
duct of  the  States  as  to  slaves,  but  ought  to  be  careful  not 
to  give  any  sanction  to  it. 

Mr.  Dickinsou  considered  it  as  indispensable,  on  every 
principle  of  honor  and  safety,  that  the  importation  of 
slaves  should  be  authorized  to  the  States  by  the  Constitu- 
tion. The  true  question  was,  whether  the  national  happi- 
ness would  be  promoted  or  impaired  by  the  importation — 
and  this  question  ought  to  be  left  to  the  national  govern- 
ment— not  to  the  States  particularly  interested.  If  Eng- 
land and  France  permit  slavery,  slaves  are,  at  the  same  time, 
excluded  from  both  those  kingdoms.  Greece  and  Rome 
were  made  unhappy  by  their  slaves.  He  could  not  believe 
that  the  Southern  States  would  refuse  to  confederate  on  the 
account  apprehended ; especially  as  the  power  was  not 
likely  to  be  immediately  exercised  by  the  general  govern- 
ment. 

General  Pinckney  thought  himself  bound  to  say,  that  he 


92 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


did  Dot  think  South  Carolina  would  stop  her  importations 
of  slaves  in  any  short  time  ; but  only  stop  them  occasion- 
ally, as  she  now  does.  He  moved  to  commit  the  clause, 
that  slaves  might  be  made  liable  to  an  equal  tax  with  other 
imports  ; which  he  thought  right,  and  which  would  remove 
one  difficulty  that  had  been  stated. 

Mr.  Rutledge.  If  the  Convention  thinks  that  North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  will  ever  agree  to 
the  plan,  unless  their  right  to  import  slaves  be  untouched, 
the  expectation  is  vain.  The  people  of  those  States  will 
never  be  such  fools  as  to  give  up  so  important  an  interest. 
He  was  against  striking  out  the  section,  and  seconded  the 
motion  of  General  Pinckney  for  a commitment. 

Mr.  Gouverneur  Morris  wished  the  whole  subject  to  be 
committed,  including  the  clauses  relating  to  taxes  on  ex- 
ports and  to  a navigation  act.  These  things  may  form  a 
bargain  among  the  Northern  and  Southern  States. 

Mr.  Butler  declared,  that  he  never  would  agree  to  the 
power  of  taxing  exports. 

Mr.  Sherman  said  it  was  better  to  let  the  Southern  States 
import  slaves  than  to  part  with  them,  if  they  made  that  a 
sine  qua  non.  He  was  opposed  to  a tax  on  slaves  im- 
ported as  making  the  matter  worse,  because  it  implied  they 
were  property.  He  acknowledged  that,  if  the  power  of 
prohibiting  the  importation  should  be  given  to  the  general 
government,  it  would  be  exercised.  He  thought  it  would 
be  its  duty  to  exercise  the  power. 

Mr.  Read  was  for  the  commitment,  provided  the  clause 
concerning  taxes  on  exports  could  also  be  committed. 

Mr.  Sherman  observed,  that  that  clause  had  been  agreed 
to,  and  therefore  could  not  be  committed. 

Mr.  Randolph  was  for  committing,  in  order  that  some 
middle  ground  might,  if  possible,  be  found.  He  could 
never  agree  to  the  clause  as  it  stands.  He  would  sooner 
risk  the  constitution.  He  dwelt  on  the  dilemma  to  which 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION, 


93 


the  Convention  was  exposed.  By  agreeing  to  the  clause, 
it  would  revolt  the  Quakers,  the  Methodists,  and  many 
others  in  the  States  having  uo  slaves.  On  the  other  hand, 
two  States  might  be  lost  to  the  union.  Let  us  then,  he 
said,  try  the  chances  of  a commitment. 

On  the  question  for  committing  the  remaining  part  of 
sections  4 and  5 of  article  7, — Connecticut,  New  Jersey, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Aye,  7 ; New  Hampshire,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware, 
No,  3 ; Massachusetts  absent. 

Mr.  Williamson  stated  the  law  of  North  Carolina  on  the 
subject,  to  wit,  that  it  did  not  directly  prohibit  the  impor- 
tation of  slaves.  It  imposed  a duty  of  five  pounds  on  each 
slave  imported  from  Africa ; ten  pounds  on  each  from  else- 
where, and  fifty  pounds  on  each  from  a State  licensing 
manumission.  He  thought  the  Southern  States  could  not 
be  members  of  the  union,  if  the  clause  should  be  rejected, 
and  that  it  was  wrong  to  force  any  thing  down  not  abso- 
lutely necessary,  and  which  any  State  must  disagree  to. 

Mr.  King  thought  the  subject  should  be  considered  in  a 
political  light  only.  If  two  States  will  not  agree  to  the 
constitution,  as  stated  on  one  side,  he  could  affirm  with 
equal  belief,  on  the  other,  that  great  and  equal  opposition 
would  be  experienced  from  the  other  States.  He  remarked 
that  the  exemption  of  slaves  from  duty,  whilst  every  other 
import  was  subject  to  it,  was  an  inequality  that  could  not 
fail  to  strike  the  commercial  sagacity  of  the  Northern  and 
Middle  States. 

Mr.  Langdon  was  strenuous  for  giving  the  power  to  the 
general  government.  He  could  not,  with  a good  conscience, 
leave  it  with  the  States,  who  could  then  go  on  with  the 
traffic  without  being  restrained  by  the  opinions  here  given, 
that  they  will  themselves  cease  to  import  slaves. 

Mr.  Rutledge,  from  the  committee  to  whom  was  referred 
the  propositions  of  Mr  Madison  and  Mr.  Pinckney  on  the 


94 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


18th  and  20th,  made  a report  embodying  the  general  views 
of  the  propositions  as  committed,  but  striking  out  the  fol- 
lowing propositions  of  Mr.  Madison, 

“ To  dispose  of  the  unappropriated  lands  of  the  United 
States.” 

“ To  institute  temporary  governments  for  new  States 
arising  therein.” 

[Note. — If,  as  is  claimed,  the  framers  of  the  constitution 
intended  to  invest  Congress  with  the  power  of  government 
over  territories,  why  was  this  proposition  of  Mr.  Madison 
struck  out  which  conferred  that  power  in  express  terms  ? 
It  is  difficult  to  explain  this  action  upon  any  other  hypo- 
thesis than  that  they  intended  no  such  power  to  be  lodged  in 
the  federal  government ; for  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  the 
sages  of  that  Convention  were  so  fond  of  implications , as 
to  strike  from  the  frame  of  government,  which  they  were 
preparing,  express  words , for  the  sake  of  having  powers 
inferred.] 

August  23.  The  convention  was  engaged  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject  of  the  militia,  treaty-making  power, 
etc. 

August  24.  Gov.  Livingston,  from  the  committee  of 
eleven  to  whom  was  referred  the  clause  of  the  fourth  section 
of  the  seventh  article,  relating  to  the  importation  of  slaves, 
made  the  following  report. 

“Strikeout  so  much  of  the  fourth  section  as  was  referred 
to  the  committee  and  insert : — ‘ The  migration  or  importa- 
tion of  such  persons  as  the  several  States  now  existing 
shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the 
legislatures  prior  to  the  year  1800,  but  a tax  or  duty  may 
be  imposed  on  such  immigration  or  importation,  not  exceed- 
ing the  average  duties  laid  on  imports.’  ” 

August  25.  The  above  report  was  taken  up.  Gen.  Pinck- 
ney moved  to  strike  out  the  year  1800  as  the  year  limiting 
the  importing  of  slaves,  and  insert  1808.  Mr.  Madison  op- 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


95 


posed  it  on  the  gronud  that  so  long  a period  would  be  more 
dishonorable  than  though  nothing  was  said  about  it  in  the 
constitution. 

On  the  motion  of  Gen.  Pinckney  to  extend  the  importation 
of  slaves  till  1808. 

New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Maryland, 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia  voted  Aye; 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and  Virginia  voted 
No.  So  it  was  agreed  to. 

Some  further  amendments  were  proposed  and  rejected. 
The  report  as  amended  was  then  agreed  to  by  the  same 
vote  as  on  Gen.  Pinckney’s  amendment. 

August  27.  The  27th  and  28th  were  occupied  in  dis- 
cussing the  judicial  branch  of  the  government,  and  the 
subject  of  commerce. 

August  29.  Mr.  Butler  moved  to  insert  after  Article  15, — 

“ If  any  person  bound  to  service  or  labor  in  any  of  the 
United  States  shall  escape  into  another  State,  he  or  she 
shall  not  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor  in  con- 
sequence of  any  regulations  subsisting  in  the  State  to  which 
they  escape,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  to  the  person  justly 
claiming  their  service  or  labor;”  which  was  agreed  to  unan- 
imously without  debate. 

Mr.  Morris,  of  Pennsylvania,  moved  the  following  : 

“ The  legislature  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of,  and  make 
all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or 
other  property  belonging  to  the  United  States  ; and  no- 
thing in  this  constitution  contained  shall  be  so  construed  as 
to  prejudice  any  claims,  either  of  the  United  States,  or  of 
any  particular  States.”  This  section  was  agreed  to,  Mary- 
land alone  dissenting. 

[Note — If,  as  is  claimed,  the  above  section  was  intended 
to  give  Congress  the  right  of  government  over  the  people 
of  the  territories,  how  could  it  have  passed  so  nearly  unani- 
mous, and  without  debate,  when  the  proposition  of  Mr. 


96 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION 


Madison,  only  seven  days  before,  giving  that  power  in  ex- 
press language,  was  rejected  ? The  subject-matter  before 
the  Convention  at  the  time  was  the  property  of  the  United 
States,  and  only  with  reference  to  that  subject  was  this  sec- 
tion adopted.] 

August  31.  From  this  date  till  the  12th  of  September  the 
Convention  was  occupied  in  settlingthe  details  of  the  constitu- 
tion, in  the  way  of  amendments  and  modifications  to  the  various 
articles.  Y ery  little  debate  occurred, — none  that  would  come 
within  the  purpose  of  this  book.  On  the  latter  day  the  commit- 
tee on  revision  reported  the  following  draft  of  a constitution, 
which  with  some  slight  amendments,  on  the  16th  was  agreed 
to  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  all  the  States.  On  the  17th  the 
instrument,  having  been  engrossed,  was  signed  by  the  mem- 
bers, with  two  or  three  exceptions,  and  the  Convention  ad- 
journed sine  die. 

CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF 
AMERICA. 

We,  the  People  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a 
more  perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic 
tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defense,  promote 
the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty 
to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish 
this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  of  America. 
Article  1.  Section  1.  All  legislative  powers  herein 
granted  shall  be  vested  in  a Congress  of  the  United  States, 
which  shall  consist  of  a Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives. 

Section  2.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  com- 
posed of  members  chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people 
of  the  several  States,  and  the  electors  in  each  State  shall 
have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the  most 
numerous  branch  of  the  State  legislature. 

No  person  shall  be  a representative  who  shall  not  have 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION-. 


97 


attained  to  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven 
years  a citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not, 
when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he 
shall  be  chosen. 

Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  States  which  may  be  included  within 
this  Union,  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  which 
shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of  free 
persons,  including  those  bound  to  service  for  a term  of 
years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all 
other  persons.  The  actual  enumeration  shall  be  made 
within  three  years  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  and  within  every  subsequent  term  of  ten 
years,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  by  law  direct.  The 
number  of  representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for  every 
thirty  thousand,  but  each  State  shall  have  at  least  one  rep- 
resentative ; and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  choose  three, 
Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  planta- 
tions one,  Connecticut  five,  New  York  six,  New  Jersey 
four,  Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland  six, 
Yirginia  ten,  North  Carolina  five,  South  Carolina  five,  and 
Georgia  three. 

"When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any 
State,  the  executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of 
election  to  fill  such  vacancies. 

The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  speaker 
and  other  officers ; and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of 
impeachment. 

Section  8.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
composed  of  two  senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the 
legislature  thereof,  for  six  years ; and  each  senator  shall 
have  one  vote. 

Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence 
of  the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equallv  as  may 

1 


98 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


be  into  three  classes.  The  seats  of  the  senators  of  the  first 
class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year, 
of  the  second  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year, 
and  of  the  third  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year, 
so  that  one-third  may  be  chosen  every  second  year ; and  if 
vacancies  happen  by  resignation,  or  otherwise,  during  the 
recess  of  the  legislature  of  any  State,  the  executive  thereof 
may  make  temporary  appointments  until  the  next  meeting 
of  the  legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

No  person  shall  be  a senator  who  shall  not  have  attained 
to  the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a citizen  of 
the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an 
inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they  be 
equally  divided. 

The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a 
president  pro  tempore,  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President, 
or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  office  of  President  of  the 
United  States. 

The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeach- 
ments. When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on 
oath  or  affirmation.  When  the  President  of  the  United 
States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside  : and  no  per- 
son shall  be  convicted  without  the  concurrence  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  present. 

Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  fur- 
ther than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to 
hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit  under  the 
United  States : but  the  party  convicted  shall  nevertheless 
be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment  and 
punishment,  according  to  law. 

Section  4.  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding 
elections  for  senators  and  representatives,  shall  be  pre- 
scribed in  each  State  by  the  legislature  thereof,  but  thw 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


99 


Congress  may  at  any  time,  by  law,  make  or  alter  such  regu- 
lations, except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing  senators. 

Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year,  and 
such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December, 
unless  they  shall,  by  law,  appoint  a different  day. 

Section  5.  Each  House  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  election 
returns  and  qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a ma- 
jority of  each  shall  constitute  a quorum  to  do  business, 
but  a smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and 
may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  tV.  absent 
members,  in  such  manner,  and  under  such  penalties,  as  each 
House  may  provide. 

Each  House  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings, 
punish  its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the 
concurrence  of  two-thirds,  expel  a member. 

Each  House  shall  keep  a journal  of  its  proceedings,  and 
from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  paas 
as  may  in  their  judgment  require  secrecy  ; and  the  yeas  and 
nays  of  the  members  of  either  House  on  any  question,  shall, 
at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the 
journal. 

Neither  House,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall, 
without  the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than 
three  days,  nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  iu  which  the 
two  Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Section  6.  The  senators  and  representatives  shall  receive 
a compensation  for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law, 
and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States.  They 
shall  in  all  cases,  except  treason,  felony,  and  breach  of  the 
peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their  attendance  at 
the  session  of  their  respective  Houses,  and  m going  to,  and 
returning  from  the  same  ; and  for  any  speech  or  aebate  in 
either  Hmise,  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other 
place. 

No  bt^uator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  time  for 


100 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under 
the  authority  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have  been 
created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall  have  been  in- 
creased, during  such  time ; and  no  person  holding  any 
office  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  a member  of  either 
House,  during  his  continuance  in  office. 

Section  I.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  ; but  the  Senate  may  pro- 
pose or  concur  with  amendments  as  on  other  bills. 

Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives and  the  Senate  shall,  before  it  become  a law,  be 
presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States;  if  he  ap- 
prove, he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not,  he  shall  return  it,  with  his 
objections,  to  that  House  in  which  it  shall  have  originated, 
who  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their  journal,  and 
proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If,  after  such  reconsideration,  two- 
thirds  of  that  House  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be 
sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other  House,  by 
which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved  by 
two-thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall  become  a law.  But  in  all 
such  cases  the  votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined  by 
yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and 
against  the  bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each  House 
respectively.  If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  Pre- 
sident within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have 
been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a law,  in  like  man- 
ner as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  ad- 
journment prevent  its  return,  in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  a 
hw. 

Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote,  to  which  the  concurrence 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  neces- 
sary, (except  on  a question  of  adjournment,)  shall  be  pre- 
sented to  the  President  of  the  United  States;  and  before 
the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him,  or  being 
disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  repassed  by  two-thirds  of  the 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


101 


Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  according  to  the  rules 
and  limitations  prescribed  in  the  case  of  a bill. 

Section  8.  The  Congress  shall  have  power — 

To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  to 
pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common  defense  and 
general  welfare  of  the  United  States;  but  all  duties,  imposts, 
and  excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States; 

To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States  ; 

To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among 
the  several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes ; 

To  establish  a uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uni- 
form laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the 
United  States ; 

To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign 
coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures  ; 

To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  se- 
curities and  current  coin  of  the  United  States  ; 

To  establish  post-offices  and  post  roads  ; 

To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by 
securing  for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  ex- 
clusive right  to  their  respective  writings  and  discoveries ; 

To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court ; 

To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed 
on  the  high  seas,  and  offences  against  the  law  of  nations  ; 

To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal, 
and  make  rules  concerning  captures  on  laud  and  water ; 

To  raise  and  support  armies,  but  no  appropriation  of 
money  to  that  use  shall  be  for  a longer  term  than  two 
years ; 

To  provide  and  maintain  a navy  ; 

To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the 
land  and  naval  forces  ; 

To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute 
the  lawTs  of  the  Union,  suppress  insurrections  and  repel  in- 
vasions ; 


4 


102  THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 

To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining, 
the  militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be 
employed  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  reserving  to 
the  States  respectively,  the  appointment  of  the  officers,  and 
the  authority  of  training  the  militia  according  to  the  discip- 
line*prescribed  by  Congress; 

To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever, 
over  such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may, 
by  cession  of  particular  States  and  the  acceptance  of  Con- 
gress, become  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all  places  pur- 
chased by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the  State  in  which 
the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts,  magazines, 
arsenals,  dock-yards,  and  other  needful  buildings  ; — and 

To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other 
powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  or  in  any  department  or  officer  thereof. 

Section  9.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  per- 
sons as  any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper 
•to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to 
the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a tax 
or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not  exceed- 
ing ten  dollars  for  each  person. 

The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be 
suspended,  unless  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the 
public  safety  may  require  it. 

No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  law  shall  be  passed. 

No  capitation,  or  other  direct,  tax  shall  be  laid,  un- 
less in  proportion  to  the  census  or  enumeration  herein  be- 
fore directed  to  be  taken. 

No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from 
any  State. 

No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  com- 
merce or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  those  of 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION.  103 

another : nor  shall  vessels  bound  to,  or  from,  one  State,  be 
obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties  in  another. 

No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in 'con- 
sequence of  appropriations  made  by  law ; aud  a regular 
statement  and  account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of 
all  public  money  shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United 
States:  and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust 
under  them,  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress, 
accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office,  or  title,  of  any 
kind  whatever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  State. 

Section  10.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alli- 
ance, or  confederation  ; grant  letters  of  marque  and  re- 
prisal ; coin  money ; emit  bills  of  credit ; make  any  thing 
but  gold  and  silver  coin  a tender  in  payment  of  debts ; 
pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  im- 
pairing the  obligation  of  contracts,  or  grant  any  title  of 
nobility. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay 
any  imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what 
may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  inspection 
laws  : and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties  and  imposts,  laid 
by  any  State  on  imports  or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use 
of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States ; and  all  such  laws 
shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of  the  Congress. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any 
duty  of  tonnage,  keep  troops,  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of 
peace,  enter  into  any  agreement  or  compact  with  another 
State,  or  with  a foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless 
actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not 
admit  of  delay. 

Article  2.  Section  1.  The  executive  power  shall  be 
vested  in  a President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 
He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  term  of  four  years,  and, 


104 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION, 


together  with  the  Vice-President,  chosen  for  the  same  terra, 
be  elected  as  follows  : 

Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legisla- 
ture thereof  may  direct,  a number  of  Electors,  equal  to  the 
whole  number  of  senators  and  representatives  to  which  the 
State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress;  but  no  senator 
or  representative,  or  person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or 
profit  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  appointed  an 
Elector. 

The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the 
Electors,  and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes ; 
which  day  shall  be  the  same  throughout  the  United  States. 

No  person  except  a natural-born  citizen,  or  a citizen  of 
the  United  States,  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Con- 
stitution, shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  President;  neither 
shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that  office  who  shall  not 
have  attained  to  the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  been  four- 
teen years  a resident  withiu  the  United  States. 

In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of 
his  death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers 
and  duties  of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the 
Vice-President,  and  Congress  may  by  law  provide  for  the 
case  of  removal,  death,  resignation,  or  inability,  both  of  t he 
President  and  Vice-President,  declaring  what  officer  shall 
then  act  as  President,  and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly, 
until  the  disability  be  removed,  or  a President  shall  be 
elected. 

The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  ser- 
vices a compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor 
diminished  during  the  period  for  which  he  shall  have  been 
elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that  period  any  other 
emolument  from  the  United  States  or  any  of  them. 

Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall 
take  the  following  oath  or  affirmation  : 

“ I do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I will  faithfully 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


105 


execute  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.” 

Section  2.  The  President  shall  be  commander-in-chief 
of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia 
of  the  several  States,  when  called  into  the  actual  service  of 
the  United  States  ; he  may  require  the  opinion,  in  writing, 
of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments, 
upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective 
offices,  and  he  shall  have  power  to  grant  reprieves  and 
pardons  for  offenses  against  the  United  States,  except  in 
cases  of  impeachment. 

He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of  the  Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of 
the  senators  present  concur;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by 
and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint 
ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls,  judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  all  other  officers  of  the  United 
States,  whose  appointments  are  not  herein  otherwise  pro- 
vided for,  and  which  shall  be  established  by  law  : but  the 
Congress  may  by  law  vest  the  appointment  of  such  inferior 
officers,  as  they  think  proper,  in  the  President  alone,  in  the 
courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments. 

The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies 
that  may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  grant- 
ing commissions  which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their  next 
session. 

Section  3.  He  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the 
Congress  information  of  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  recom- 
mend to  their  consideration  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge 
necessary  and  expedient ; he  may,  on  extraordinary  occa 
sions,  convene  both  Houses,  or  either  of  them,  and  in  case 
of  disagreement  between  them,  with  respect  to  the  time  of 
adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such  time  as  he  shall 
think  proper  ; he  shall  receive  ambassadors  and  other  public 


106 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


mini&Ura  ; he  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully 
executed,  and  shall  commission  all  the  officers  of  the  Uuited 
States. 

Section  4.  The  President,  Yice  President,  and  all  civil 
officers  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  removed  from  office 
on  impeachment  for  and  conviction  of  treason,  bribery,  or 
other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

Article  3.  Section  1.  The  judicial  power  of  the 
United  States  shall  be  vested  in  one  Supreme  Court,  and 
in  such  infetior  courts  as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to 
time  ordain  «nd  establish.  The  judges  both  of  the  supreme 
and  inferior  courts,  shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  be- 
havior, and  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  their  services 
a compensation,  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  their 
continuance  in  office. 

Section  2.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases, 
in  law  and  equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws 
of  the  United  States,  and  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be 
made  under  their  authority  ; — to  all  cases  affecting  ambas- 
sadors, othei  public  ministers  and  consuls  ; — to  all  cases  of 
admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction  ; — to  controversies  to 
which  the  United  States  shall  be  a party  ; — to  controversies 
between  two  or  more  States  ; — between  a State  and  citizens 
of  another  State; — between  citizens  of  different  States; — 
between  citizens  of  the  same  State  claiming  lands  under 
grants  of  different  States,  and  between  a State  or  the  citi- 
zens thereof,  and  foreign  states,  citizens  or  subjects. 

In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers 
and  consuls,  and  those  in  which  a State  shall  be  party,  the 
Supreme  Court  shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the 
other  cases  before  mentioned,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have 
appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such 
exceptions  and  under  such  regulations  as  the  Congress 
shall  make. 

The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment, 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


107 


shall  be  by  jury;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State 
where  the  said  crimes  shall  have  been  committed  ; but  when 
not  committed  within  any  State,  the  trial  shall  be  at  such 
place  or  places  as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have  directed. 

Section  3.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  con- 
sist only  in  levying  war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to 
their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort.  No  person 
shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two 
witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open 
court. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment 
of  treason,  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption 
of  blood  or  forfeiture,  except  during  the  life  of  the  person 
attainted. 

Article  4.  Section  1.  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be 
given  in  each  State  to  the  public  acts,  records,  and  judicial 
proceedings  of  every  other  State.  And  the  Congress  may, 
by  general  laws,  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts, 
records,  and  proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect 
thereof. 

Section  2.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled 
to  all  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several 
States. 

A person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony,  or 
other  crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in 
another  State,  shall,  on  demand  of  the  executive  authority 
of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  re- 
moved to  the  State  having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under 
the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence 
of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such 
service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the 
party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

Section  3.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Con- 
gress into  this  Union ; but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or 


108 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  State  ; nor  any 
State  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  States,  or 
parts  of  States,  without  the  consent  of  the  legislatures  of 
the  States  concerned  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make 
all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or 
other  property  belonging  to  the  United  States  ; and  nothing 
in  this  Constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prejudice 
any  claims  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  particular  State. 

Section  4.  The  Uuited  States  shall  guarantee  to  every 
State  in  this  Union  a republican  form  of  government,  and 
shall  protect  each  of  them  against  invasion,  and  on  applica- 
tion of  the  legislature,  or  of  the  executive  (when  the  legis- 
lature cannot  be  convened)  against  domestic  violence. 

Article  5.  The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both 
Houses  shall  deem  it  necessary,  shall  propose  amendments 
to  this  Constitution,  or,  on  the  application  of  the  legisla- 
tures of  two-thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a con- 
vention for  proposing  amendments,  which,  in  either  case, 
shall  be  valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  part  of  this 
Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  three- 
fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by  conventions  in  three- 
fourths  thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification 
may  be  proposed  by  the  Congress ; Provided  that  no 
amendment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  year  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  manner 
affect  the  first  and  fourth  clauses  in  the  ninth  section  of 
the  first  article ; and  that  no  State,  without  its  consent, 
shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

Article  6.  All  debts  contracted  and  engagements 
entered  into,  before  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall 
be  as  valid  against  the  United  States  under  this  Constitu- 
tion, as  under  the  Confederation. 

This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
which  shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof ; and  all  treaties 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION.  109 

made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  the  authority  of  the 
United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land  ; and 
the  judges  in  every  State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything 
in  the  Constitution  or  laws  of  any  State  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding. 

The  senators  and  representatives  before  mentioned,  and 
the  members  of  the  several  State  legislatures,  and  all 
executive  and  judicial  officers,  both  of  the  United  States 
and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be  be  bound  by  oath  or 
affirmation,  to  support  this  Constitution;  but  no  religious 
Test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a qualification  to  any  office 
or  public  trust  under  the  United  States. 

Article  7.  The  ratification  of  the  Conventions  of  nine 
States,  shall  be  sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  this  Con- 
stitution between  the  States  so  ratifying  the  same. 

Done  in  Convention  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the 
States  present  the  seventeenth  day  of  September  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty 
seven  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of 
America  the  twelfth.  In  witness  whereof,  We  have  here- 
unto subscribed  our  names. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON, 
President,  and  Deputy  f rom  Virginia. 

The  Constitution  was  ratified  by  the  Conventions  of  the 
several  States,  as  follows,  viz.  : Delaware,  7th  December, 
1781  ; Pennsylvania,  12th  December,  1787  ; New  Jersey, 
18th  December,  1787;  Georgia,  2d  January,  1788  ; Con- 
necticut, 9th  January,  1788;  Massachusetts,  6th  February, 
1788;  Maryland,  28th  April,  1788;  South  Carolina,  23d 
May,  1788;  New  Hampshire,  21st  June,  1788;  Virginia, 
26th  June,  1788;  New  York,  26th  July,  1788;  North 
Carolina,  21st  November,  1789  ; Rhode  Island,  29th  May, 
1790. 


110 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


OFFICIAL  LETTER 

Adopted  by  the  Convention,  and  addressed  to  Congress, 
with  a copy  of  the  Constitution. 

“ We  have  now  the  honor  to  submit  to  the  consideration 
of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  that  Constitu- 
tion which  has  appeared  to  us  the  most  advisable. 

“ The  friends  of  our  country  have  long  seen  and  desired, 
that  the  power  of  making  war,  peace,  and  treaties ; that  of 
levying  money  and  regulating  commerce  ; and  the  corres- 
pondent executive  and  judicial  authorities,  should  be  fully 
and  effectually  vested  in  the  general  government  of  the 
Union.  But  the  impropriety  of  delegating  such  extensive 
trust  to  one  body  of  men  is  evident.  Thence  results  the 
necessity  of  a different  organzation.  It  is  obviously  im- 
practicable in  the  federal  government  of  these  States,  to 
secure  all  rights  of  independent  sovereignty  to  each,  and 
yet  provide  for  the  interest  and  safety  of  all.  Individuals 
entering  into  society  must  give  up  a share  of  liberty  to 
preserve  the  rest. 

The  magnitude  of  the  sacrifice  must  depend  as  well  on 
situation  and  circumstances,  as  on  the  object  to  be  ob- 
tained. It  is  at  all  times  difficult  to  draw  with  precision 
the  line  between  those  rights  which  must  be  surrendered 
and  those  which  may  be  reserved.  And  on  the  present 
occasion  this  difficulty  was  increased  by  a difference  among 
the  several  States  as  to  their  situation,  extent,  habits,  and 
particular  interests. 

In  all  our  deliberations  on  this  subject,  we  kept  steadily 
in  our  view  that  which  appeared  to  us  the  greatest  interest 
of  every  true  American, — the  consolidation  of  our  Union, 
in  which  is  involved  our  prosperity,  felicity,  safety,  perhaps 
our  national  existence.  This  important  consideration,  se- 
riously and  deeply  impressed  on  our  minds,  led  each  State 
in  the  Convention  to  be  less  rigid  in  points  of  inferior  mag- 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


Ill 


nitude  than  might  have  been  otherwise  expected.  And 
thus  the  Constitution  which  we  now  present  is  the  result  of 
a spirit  of  amity,  and  of  that  mutual  deference  and  con- 
cession, which  the  peculiarity  of  our  political  situation  ren- 
dered indispensable. 

“ That  it  will  meet  the  full  and  entire  approbation  of 
every  State  is  not,  perhaps,  to  be  expected.  But  each  will 
doubtless  consider  that,  had  her  interest  alone  been  con- 
sulted, the  consequence  might  have  been  particularly  disa- 
greeable and  injurious  to  others.  That  it  is  liable  to  as 
few  exceptions  as  could  reasonably  have  been  expected,  we 
hope  and  believe  ; that  it  will  promote  the  lasting  welfare 
of  that  country  so  dear  to  us  all,  and  secure  our  freedom 
and  happiness,  is  our  most  ardent  wish.” 

ARTICLES 

In  addition  to,  and  amendment  of,  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  proposed  by  Congress,  and 
ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States,  pursu- 
ant to  the  fifth  at'ticle  of  the  original  Constitution. 

Article  1.  Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an 
establishment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise 
thereof ; or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the 
press  ; or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble, 
and  to  petition  the  government  for  a redress  of  grievances. 

Article  2.  A well  regulated  militia  being  necessary  to 
the  security  of  a free  State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep 
and  bear  arms,  shall  not  be  infringed. 

Article  3.  No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quar- 
tered in  any  house,  without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor 
in  time  of  war,  but  in  a manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

Article  4.  The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in 
their  persons,  houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against  unreason- 
able searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  violated,  and  no 


112 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION'. 


warrants  shall  issue,  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported 
by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the 
place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be 
seized. 

Article  5.  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a 
capital,  or  otherwise  infamous  crime,  unless  on  a present- 
ment or  indictment  of  a grand  jury,  except  in  cases  arising 
m the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia,  when  in  actual 
service  in  time  of  war  or  public  clanger ; nor  shall  any  per- 
son be  subject  for  the  same  offense  to  be  twice  put  in 
jeopardy  of  life  or  limb ; nor  shall  be  compelled  in  any 
criminal  case  to  be  a witness  against  himself,  nor  be  de- 
prived of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of 
law ; nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use, 
without  just  compensation. 

Article  6.  In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused 
shall  enjoy  the  right  to  a speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  im- 
partial jury  of  the  State  and  district  wherein  the  crime  shall 
have  been  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have  been 
previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the 
nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation  ; to  be  confronted  with 
the  witnesses  against  him  ; to  have  compulsory  process  for 
obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the  assistance 
of  counsel  for  his  defense. 

Article  1.  In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in 
controversy  shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial 
by  jury  shall  be  preserved,  and  no  fact  tried  by  a jury  shall 
be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the  United  States, 
than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common  law. 

Article  8.  Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor 
excessive  fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments 
inflicted. 

Article  9.  The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution,  of 
certain  rights,  shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage 
others  retained  by  the  people. 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


113 


Article  10.  The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United 
States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the 
States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respectively,  or  to  the 
people. 

Article  11.  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States 
shall  not  be  construed  to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or 
equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted  against  one  of  the  United 
States  by  citizens  of  another  State,  or  by  citizens  or  sub- 
jects of  any  foreign  State. 

Article  12.  The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective 
States,  and  vote  by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President, 
one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the 
same  State  with  themselves ; they  shall  name  in  their  bal- 
lots the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct  bal- 
lots the  person  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  they  shall 
make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President,  and 
of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  of  the  num- 
ber of  votes  for  each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify, 
and  transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate  ; — 
the  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  presence  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates  and 
the  votes  shall  then  be  counted ; — The  person  having  the 
greatest  number  of  votes  for  President,  shall  be  the  Presi- 
dent, if  such  number  be  a majority  of  the  whole  number  of 
Electors  appointed ; and  if  no  person  have  such  majority, 
then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers  not  ex- 
ceeding three  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President, 
the  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  immediately,  by 
ballot,  the  President.  But  in  choosing  the  President,  the 
votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  representation  from  each 
State  having  one  vote  ; a quorum  for  this  purpose  shall 
consist  of  a member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the 
States,  and  a majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to 
a choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not 
8 


114 


THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


choose  a President  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  de- 
volve upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  fol- 
lowing, then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as  President,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional  disability  of 
the  President.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of 
votes  as  Vice-President,  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if 
such  number  be  a majority  of  the  whole  number  of  Electors 
appointed,  and  if  no  person  have  a majority,  then  from  the 
two  highest  numbers  on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose 
the  Vice-President;  a quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist 
of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  senators,  and  a 
majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a 
choice.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the 
office  of  President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States. 

The  first  ten  of  the  preceding  amendments  were  proposed 
at  the  first  session  of  the  first  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  25th  September,  1789,  and  were  finally  ratified  by 
the  constitutional  number  of  States,  on  the  15th  day  of 
December,  1791. 

The  eleventh  amendment  was  proposed  at  the  first  session 
of  the  third  Congress,  5th  March,  1794,  and  was  declared 
in  a message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States  to 
both  houses  of  Congress,  dated  8th  January,  1798,  to  have 
been  adopted  by  the  constitutional  number  of  States. 

The  twelfth  amendment  was  proposed  at  the  first  session 
of  the  eighth  Congress,  12th  December,  1803,  and  was 
adopted  by  the  Constitutional  number  of  States  in  1804, 
according  to  a public  notice  thereof  by  the  Secretary  of 
State,  dated  25th  September,  of  the  same  year. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 

The  following  chapter  contains  all  the  debates  on  the 
subject  of  slavery,  in  the  Conventions  of  the  several  States 
to  ratify  the  Constitution,  that  have  been  preserved.  Of 
the  Conventions  of  Vermont,  Delaware,  Maryland,  and 
Georgia,  none  were  reported,  or,  if  reported,  have  never  been 
published.  In  Pennsylvania,  the  only  speeches  preserved 
are  those  of  Janies  Wilson,  a member  of  the  Federal  Con- 
vention, and  Thomas  McKean.  The  only  allusion  in  these 
speeches  to  the  question  of  slavery  was  by  Mr.  Wilson, 
expressing  his  gratification  that,  after  twenty  years,  Con- 
gress would  have  power  to  prohibit  the  slave  trade,  and 
that  thus  slavery  would  finally  die  out  of  itself.  No  debates 
were  preserved  of  the  New  Hampshire  Convention,  save  a 
mere  fragment  of  a speech  by  Joshua  Atherton,  repro- 
bating the  slave  trade.  It  does  not  appear,  however, 
whether  he  opposed  the  Constitution  on  that  ground,  or 
supported  it  because  it  provided  a way  for  its  final  extinc- 
tion. We  therefore  do  not  copy  it. 

In  some  States  the  debates  are  voluminous,  and  yet  very 
little,  comparatively,  on  the  subject  of  slavery.  We  have 
aimed  to  give  all  that  wTas  said,  pro  and  con,  leaving  the 
reader  to  form  his  own  opinions. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  DEBATES  IN  THE  CONVEN- 
TION OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

February  4,  1188.  Rev.  Mr.  Backus  said — Mr.  Presi- 
dent, I have  said  very  little  in  this  honorable  Convention  ; 
but  I now  beg  leave  to  offer  a few  thoughts  upon  some 

(115) 


116 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


points  in  the  Constitution  proposed  to  us,  and  I shall  begin 
with  the  exclusion  of  the  religious  test.  Many  appear  to 
be  much  concerned  about  it ; but  nothing  is  more  evident, 
both  in  reason  and  the  Holy  Scriptures,  than  that  religion 
is  ever  a matter  between  God  and  individuals  ; and  there- 
fore no  man  or  men  can  impose  any  religious  test,  without 
invading  the  essential  prerogatives  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Ministers  first  assumed  this  power  under  the  Chris- 
tian name  ; and  then  Constantine  approved  of  the  practice, 
when  he  adopted  the  profession  of  Christianity,  as  an 
engine  of  State  policy.  And  let  the  history  of  all  nations 
be  searched  from  that  day  to  this,  and  it  will  appear  that 
the  imposing  of  religious  tests  hath  been  the  greatest  en- 
gine of  tyranny  in  the  world.  And  I rejoice  to  see  so 
many  gentlemen  who  are  now  giving  in  their  rights  of  con- 
science in  this  great  and  important  matter.  Some  serious 
minds  discover  a concern  lest,  if  all  religious  tests  should 
be  excluded,  the  Cougress  would  hereafter  establish  Popery, 
or  some  other  tyrannical  way  of  worship.  But  it  is  most 
certain  that  no  such  way  of  worship  can  be  established 
without  any  religious  test. 

Much,  sir,  hath  been  said  about  the  importation  of  slaves 
into  this  country. 

I believe  that,  according  to  my  capacity,  no  man  abhors 
that  wicked  practice  more  than  I do  ; I would  gladly  make 
use  of  all  lawful  means  toward  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  all 
parts  of  the  land. 

But  let  us  consider  where  we  are  and  what  we  are  doing. 
In  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  no  provision  was  made  to 
hinder  the  importation  of  slaves  into  any  of  these  States ; 
but  a door  is  now  open  hereafter  to  do  it,  and  each  State  is 
at  liberty  now  to  abolish  slavery  as  soon  as  they  please. 
And  let  us  remember  our  former  connection  with  Great 
Britain,  from  whom  many  in  our  own  land  think  we  ought 
not  to  have  revolted.  How  did  they  carry  on  the  slave 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


117 


trade  ? I know  that  the  Bishop  of  Gloucester,  in  an  an- 
nual sermon  in  London,  in  February,  1116,  endeavored  to 
justify  their  tyrannical  claims  of  power  over  us  by  casting 
the  reproach  of  the  slave  trade  upon  the  Americans. 

But  at  the  close  of  the  war,  the  Bishop  of  Chester,  in  an 
annual  sermon,  in  February,  1183,  ingenuously  owned  that 
their  nation  is  the  most  deeply  involved  in  the  guilt  of  that 
trade  of  any  nation  in  the  world ; and,  also,  that  they  have 
treated  their  slaves  in  the  West  Indies  worse  than  the 
French  or  Spaniards  have  done  theirs. 

Thus  slavery  grows  more  odious  through  the  world  ; aud 
as  an  honorable  gentleman  said,  some  days  ago,  “ Though 
we  cannot  say  that  slavery  is  struck  with  an  apoplexy,  yet 
we  may  hope  it  will  die  with  consumption.” 

Mr.  Dawes  said  he  was  sorry  to  hear  so  many  objec- 
tions raised  against  the  paragraph  under  consideration.  He 
thought  them  wholly  unfounded;  that  the  black  inhabitants 
of  the  Southern  States  must  be  considered  either  as  slaves, 
and  as  so  much  property,  or  in  the  character  of  so  many 
freemen ; if  the  former,  why  should  they  not  be  wholly  re- 
presented ? Our  own  State  laws  and  Constitutions  would 
lead  us  to  consider  these  blacks  as  freemen,  and  so  in- 
deed, would  our  own  ideas  of  natural  justice.  If,  then,  they 
are  freemen,  they  might  form  au  equal  basis  for  represen- 
tation as  though  they  were  all  white  inhabitants. 

In  either  view,  therefore,  he  could  not  see  that  the 
Northern  States  would  suffer,  but  directly  to  the  contrary. 
He  thought,  however,  that  gentlemen  would  do  well  to  con- 
nect the  passage  in  dispute  with  another  article  in  the 
Constitution,  that  permits  Congress,  in  the  year  1808, 
wholly  to  prohibit  the  importation  of  slaves,  and  in  the 
mean  time  to  impose  a duty  of  ten  dollars  a head  on  such 
blacks  as  should  be  imported  before  that  period.  Besides, 
by  the  new  Constitution,  every  particular  State  is  left  to  its 
own  option  totally  to  prohibit  the  introduction  of  slaves 


118 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


into  its  own  territories.  What  could  the  Convention  do 
more  ? The  members  of  the  Southern  States,  like  ourselves, 
have  their  prejudices.  It  would  not  do  to  abolish  slavery, 
by  an  Act  of  Congress,  in  a moment,  and  so  destroy  what 
our  Southern  brethren  consider  as  property. 

But  we  may  say,  that  although  slavery  is  not  smitten  by 
apoplexy,  yet  it  has  received  a mortal  wound,  and  will  die  of 
consumption. 

Gen.  Heath  said,  the  paragraph  respecting  the  migra- 
tion or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the  States  now 
existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  &c.,  is  one  of  those 
considered  during  my  absence,  and  I have  heard  nothing 
on  the  subject,  save  what  has  been  mentioned  this  morn- 
ing ; but  I think  the  gentlemen  who  have  spoken  have  car- 
ried the  matter  rather  too  far  on  both  sides. 

I apprehend  that  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  do  any  thing 
for  or  against  those  who  are  in  slavery  in  the  Southern 
States. 

Ho  gentleman  within  these  walls  detests  every  idea  of 
slavery  more  than  I do  : it  is  generally  detested  by  the 
people  of  this  commonwealth  ; and  I ardently  hope  that  the 
time  will  soon  come  when  our  brethren  in  the  Southern 
States  will  view  it  as  we  do,  and  put  a stop  to  it ; but  to 
this  we  have  no  right  to  compel  them.  Two  questions 
naturally  arise.  If  we  ratify  the  Constitution,  shall  we  do 
anything  by  our  act  to  hold  the  blacks  in  slavery  ? Or 
shall  we  become  partakers  of  other  men’s  sins  1 I think, 
neither  of  them.  Each  State  is  sovereign  and  independent 
to  a certain  degree,  and  the  States  have  a right,  and  they 
will  regulate  their  own  internal  affairs  as  to  themselves 
appears  proper ; and  shall  we  refuse  to  eat,  or  to  drink,  or 
to  be  united,  with  those  who  do  not  think,  or  act,  just  as  we 
do  ? Surely  not.  We  are  not,  in  this  case,  partakers  of 
other  men’s  sins  ; for  in  nothing  do  we  voluntarily  encourage 
the  slavery  of  our  fellow  man. 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


119 


Mr.  President:  After  a long  and  painful  investigation  of 
the  Federal  Constitution,  by  paragraphs,  this  honorable 
Convention  is  drawing  nigh  to  the  ultimate  question — a 
question  as  momentous  as  ever  invited  the  attention  of  man. 

We  are  soon  to  decide  on  a system  of  government, 
digested,  not  for  the  people  of  the  commonwealth  of  Massa- 
chusetts only — not  for  the  present  people  of  the  United 
States  only — but,  in  addition  to  these,  for  all  those  States 
which  may  hereafter  rise  into  existence  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  United  States,  and  for  millions  of  people  yet 
unborn  ; a system  of  government,  not  for  a nation  of  slaves, 
but  for  a people  as  free  and  virtuous  as  any  on  earth  ; not 
for  a conquered  uation,  subdued  to  our  will,  but  for  a people 
who  have  fought,  who  have  bled,  and  who  have  conquered  ; 
who  under  the  smiles  of  Heaven,  have  established  their  inde- 
pendence and  sovereignty,  and  have  taken  equal  rank  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth. 

In  short,  sir,  it  is  a system  of  government  for  ourselves 
and  for  our  children,  for  all  that  is  near  and  dear  to  us  in 
life  ; and  on  the  decision  of  the  question  is  suspended  our 
political  prosperity  or  infelicity,  perhaps  our  existence  as  a 
nation.  What  can  be  more  solemn  ? What  can  be  more 
interesting?  Everything  depends  on  our  union.  I know 
that  some  have  supposed,  that  although  the  union  should  be 
broken,  particular  States  may  retain  their  importance  ; but 
this  cannot  be. 

The  strongest  nerved  State,  even  the  right  arm,  if  sepa- 
rated from  the  body,  must  wither.  If  the  great  union  be 
broken,  our  country,  as  a nation,  perishes  ; and  if  our 
country  so  perishes,  it  will  be  as  impossible  to  save  a par- 
ticular State  as  to  preserve  one  of  the  fingers  of  a mortified 
hand. 

By  one  of  the  paragraphs  of  the  system,  it  is  declared 
that  the  ratifications  of  the  Conventions  of  nine  States  shall 
be  sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  the  Constitution  between 


120 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


the  States  so  ratifying  the  same.  But,  sir,  how  happy 
will  it  be  if,  not  only  nine,  but  even  all  the  States  should 
ratify  it. 

It  will  be  a happy  circumstance  if  only  a small  majority 
of  this  Convention  should  ratify  the  federal  system  ; but 
how  much  more  happy  if  we  could  be  unanimous ! And  if 
there  are  any  means  whereby  they  may  be  united,  every 
exertion  should  be  made  to  effect  it.  I presume,  sir,  that 
there  is  not  a single  gentleman  within  these  walls  who  does 
not  wish  for  a federal  government — for  an  efficient  federal 
government;  and  that  this  government  should  be  possessed 
of  every  power  necessary  to  enable  it  to  shed  on  the  people 
the  benign  influence  of  a good  government. 

The  third  paragraph  of  the  2d  section  being  read,  Mr. 
King,  a member  of  the  Federal  Convention,  rose  to  explain 
it.  There  has,  says  he,  been  much  misconception  of  this 
section.  It  is  a principle  of  this  Constitution  that  represen- 
tation and  taxation  should  go  hand  in  hand.  This  para- 
graph states  that  to  the  number  of  free  persons,  including 
those  bound  to  service  for  a term  of  years,  and  excluding  In- 
dians not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all  other  persons  shall  be 
added.  These  persons  are  the  slaves.  By  this  rule  are 
representation  and  taxation  to  be  apportioned  ; and  it  was 
adopted,  because  it  was  the  language  of  all  America.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Confederation,  ratified  in  1181,  the  suras 
for  the  general  welfare  and  defense  should  be  apportioned 
according  to  the  surveyed  lands,  and  improvements  thereon, 
in  the  several  States ; but  that  it  hath  never  been  in  the 
power  of  Congress  to  follow  that  rule,  the  returns  from 
the  several  States  being  so  very  imperfect. 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


121 


EXTRACTS  PROM  THE  DEBATES  IN  THE  COHVES 
TION  OP  THE  STATE  OP  NEW  YORK. 

June  20,  1IS8.  *Mr.  Hamilton  said  : In  order  that  tin 
committee  may  understand  clearly  the  principle  on  which 
the  genera]  Convention  acted,  I think  it  necessary  to  explain 
some  preliminary  circumstances.  Sir,  the  natural  situation 
of  this  country  seems  to  divide  its  interests  into  different 
classes.  There  are  navigating  and  non-navigating  States. 
The  Northern  are  properly  navigating  States  ; the  Southern 
appear  to  possess  neither  the  means  nor  the  spirit  of  navi- 
gation. This  difference  or  situation  naturally  produces  a 
dissimilarity  of  interests  and  views  respecting  foreign  com- 
merce. It  was  the  interest  of  the  Northern  States  that  there 
should  be  no  restraints  on  their  navigation,  and  that  they 
should  have  full  power,  by  a majority  in  Congress,  to  make 
commercial  regulations  in  favor  of  their  own,  and  in  restraint 
of  the  navigation  of  foreigners.  The  Southern  States  wished 
to  impose  a restraint  on  the  Northern,  by  requiring  that 
two-thirds  in  Congress  should  be  requisite  to  pass  an  act 
in  regulation  of  commerce.  They  were  apprehensive  that 
the  restraints  of  a navigation  law  would  discourage  foreign- 
ers, and,  by  obliging  them  to  employ  the  shipping  of  the 
Northern  States,  would  probably  enhance  their  freight. 
This  being  the  case,  they  insisted  strenuously  on  having 
this  provision  engrafted  in  the  Constitution  ; and  the  North- 
ern States  were  as  anxious  in  opposing  it.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  small  States,  seeing  themselves  embraced  by  the 
Confederation  upon  equal  terms,  wished  to  retain  the  ad- 
vantages which  they  already  possessed.  The  large  States, 
on  the  contrary,  thought  it  improper  that  Rhode  Island  and 
Delaware  should  enjoy  an  equal  suffrage  with  themselves. 

* Mr.  Hamilton  was  the  only  delegate  in  the  New  York  Con- 
vention that  discussed,  or  expressed  an  opinion  on  thn  subject 
of  slavery. 


122 


THE  STATE  CONVENTION'S. 


From  these  sources  a delicate  and  difficult  contest  arose. 
It  became  necessary,  therefore,  to  compromise,  or  the  Con- 
vention must  have  dissolved  without  effecting  anything. 
Would  it  have  been  wise  and  prudent  in  that  body,  in  this 
critical  situation,  to  have  deserted  their  country?  No  1 
Every  man  who  hears  me,  every  wise  man  in  the  United 
States  would  have  condemned  them. 

The  Convention  were  obliged  to  appoint  a committee  for 
accommodation.  In  this  committee  the  arrangement  was 
formed  as  it  now  stands,  and  their  report  was  accepted.  It 
was  a delicate  point,  and  it  was  necessary  that  all  parties 
should  be  indulged. 

Gentlemen  will  see  that,  if  there  had  been  no  unanimity, 
nothing  could  have  been  done;  for  the  Convention  had  no 
power  to  establish,  but  only  to  recommend,  a government. 
Any  other  system  would  have  been  impracticable. 

Let  a convention  be  called  to-morrow.  Let  them  meet 
twenty  times, — nay,  twenty  thousand  times  ; they  will  have 
the  same  difficulties  to  encounter,  the  same  clashing  inte- 
rests to  reconcile. 

But,  dismissing  these  reflections,  let  us  consider  how  far 
the  arrangement  is  in  itself  entitled  to  the  approbation  of 
this  body.  We  will  examine  it  upon  its  own  merits. 

The  first  thing  objected  to  is  that  clause  which  allows  a 
representation  for  three-fifths  of  the  negroes.  Much  has 
been  said  of  the  impropriety  of  representing  men  who  have 
no  will  of  their  own.  Whether  this  be  reasoning  or  decla- 
mation I will  not  presume  to  say.  It  is  the  unfortunate 
situation  of  the  Southern  States  to  have  a great  part  of  their 
population,  as  well  as  property,  in  blacks.  The  regulation 
complained  of  was  one  result  of  the  spirit  of  accommodation 
which  governed  the  Convention,  and  without  this  indulgence 
no  union  could  possibly  have  been  formed. 

But,  sir,  considering  some  peculiar  advantages  which  we 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


128 


derive  from  them,  it  is  entirely  just  that  they  should  be 
granted. 

The  Southern  States  possess  certain  staples — tobacco, 
rice,  indigo,  &c. — which  must  be  capital  objects  in  treaties 
of  commerce  with  foreign  nations ; and  the  advantages 
which  they  necessarily  procure  in  those  treaties  will  be  felt 
throughout  all  the  States.  But  the  justice  of  this  plan  will 
appear  in  another  view.  The  best  writers  on  government, 
have  held  that  representation  should  be  compounded  of  per- 
sons and  property.  This  rule  has  been  adopted,  as  far  as 
it  could  be,  in  the  Constitution  of  New  York.  It  will, 
however,  by  no  means  be  admitted  that  the  slaves  are  con- 
sidered altogether  as  property.  They  are  men,  though 
degraded  to  the  condition  of  slavery. 

They  are  persons  known  to  the  municipal  laws  of  the 
States  which  they  inhabit,  as  well  as  to  the  laws  of  nature. 
But  representation  and  taxation  go  together,  and  one  uni- 
form rule  ought  to  apply  to  both. 

Would  it  be  just  to  compute  these  slaves  in  the  assess- 
ment of  taxes,  and  discard  them  from  the  estimate  in  the 
apportionment  of  representatives  ? 

Would  it  be  just  to  impose  a singular  burden,  without 
conferring  some  adequate  advantage  ? 

Another  circumstance  ought  to  be  considered.  The  rule 
we  have  been  speaking  of  is  a general  rule,  and  applies  to 
all  the  States.  Now,  you  have  a great  number  of  people  in 
your  State  which  are  not  represented  at  all,  and  have  no 
voice  in  your  government. 

These  will  be  included  in  the  enumeration — not  two-fifths, 
nor  three-fifths,  but  the  whole. 

This  proves  that  the  advantages  of  the  plan  are  not  con- 
fined to  the  Southern  States,  but  extend  to  other  parts  of 
the  Union. 


124 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  DEBATES  IN  THE  CONVEN- 
TION OE  CONNECTICUT. 

January  4,  1188. — Oliver  Ellsworth.  Mr.  President : It 
is  observable  that  there  is  no  preface  to  the  proposed  Con- 
stitution ; but  it  evidently  pre-supposes  two  things  ; one  is, 
the  necessity  of  a federal  government,  the  other  is  the  ineffi- 
ciency of  the  old  Articles  of  Confederation. 

A union  is  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  national  defense. 
United  we  are  strong,  divided  we  are  weak.  It  is  easy  for  hos- 
tile nations  to  sweep  off  a number  of  separate  states,  one  after 
another.  Witness  the  states  in  the  neighborhood  of  ancient 
Rome.  They  were  successively  subdued  by  that  ambitious 
city,  which  they  might  have  conquered  with  the  utmost 
ease  if  they  had  been  united. 

Witness  the  Canaanitish  nations,  whose  divided  situation 
rendered  them  an  easy  prey.  Witness  England,  which, 
when  divided  into  separate  states,  was  twice  conquered  by 
an  inferior  force.  Thus  it  always  happens  to  small  states, 
and  to  great  ones  if  divided.  Or  if,  to  avoid  this,  they 
connect  themselves  with  some  powerful  state,  their  situation 
is  not  much  better.  This  shows  us  the  necessity  of  combin- 
ing our  whole  force,  and,  as  to  national  purposes,  becoming 
one  state. 

A union,  sir,  is  likewise  necessary,  considered  with  rela- 
tion to  economy. 

They  must  provide  for  their  defense. 

The  expense  of  it,  which  would  be  moderate  for  a large 
kingdom,  would  be  intolerable  to  a petty  state.  The  Dutch 
are  wealthy,  but  they  are  one  of  the  smallest  of  the  Euro- 
pean nations,  and  their  taxes  are  higher  than  in  any  other 
country  of  Europe.  Their  taxes  amount  to  forty  shillings 
per  head,  when  those  of  England  do  not  exceed  half  that 
sum. 

We  must  unite  in  order  to  preserve  peace  among  our- 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


125 


Helves.  If  we  be  divided,  what  is  to  prevent  wars  from 
breaking  out  among  the  States  ? States,  as  well  as  indi- 
viduals, are  subject  to  ambition,  to  avarice,  to  those  jarring 
passions  which  disturb  the  peace  of  society.  What  is  to 
check  these  ? If  there  be  a parental  hand  over  the  whole, 
this,  and  nothing  else,  can  restrain  the  unruly  conduct  of  the 
members. 

Union  is  necessary  to  preserve  commutative  justice  be- 
tween the  States. 

If  divided  what  is  to  prevent  the  large  States  from 
oppressing  the  small  ? What  is  to  defend  us  from  the  am- 
bition and  rapacity  of  New  York,  when  she  has  spread  over 
that  vast  territory  which  she  claims  and  holds  ? Do  we  not 
already  see  in  her  the  seeds  of  an  overbearing  ambition  ? 
On  our  other  side  there  is  a large  and  powerful  State. 
Have  we  not  already  begun  to  be  tributaries  ? If  we  do 
not  improve  the  present  critical  time — if  we  do  not  unite — 
shall  we  not  be  like  Issachar  of  old,  a strong  ass  crouching 
down  between  two  burdens.  New  Jersey  and  Delaware 
have  seen  this,  and  have  adopted  the  Constitution  unani- 
mously. 

A more  energetic  system  is  necessary. 

The  present  is  merely  advisory.  It  has  no  coercive 
power.  Without  this,  government  is  ineffectual,  or  rather 
is  no  government  at  all.  But  it  is  said,  “ Such  a power  is 
not  necessary.  States  will  not  do  wrong.  They  need  only 
to  be  told  their  duty  and  they  will  do  it.”  I ask,  sir,  what 
warrant  is  there  for  this  assertion  ? Do  not  States  do 
wrong  ? Whence  come  wars  ? One  of  two  hostile  nations 
must  be  in  the  wrong. 

But  it  is  said,  “ Among  sister  States  this  can  never  be 
presumed.”  But  do  we  not  know  that  when  friends  become 
enemies,  their  enmity  is  the  most  virulent  ? 

The  seventeen  provinces  of  the  Netherlands  were  once 
confederated : they  fought  under  the  same  banner.  Ant- 


126 


THE  STATE  CONVENTION'S. 


vverp,  hard  pressed  by  Philip,  applied  to  the  other  states 
for  relief.  Holland,  a rival  in  trade,  opposed  and  prevented 
the  needy  succors. 

Antwerp  was  made  a .sacrifice.  I wish  I could  say  there 
were  no  seeds  of  similar  injustice  springing  up  among  us. 
Is  there  not  in  one  of  our  States  injustice  too  barefaced  for 
Eastern  despotism  ? That  State  is  small.  It  does  little 
hurt  to  any  but  itself. 

But  it  has  a spirit  which  would  make  a Topket  of  the 
universe.  But  some  will  say,  “We  formerly  did  well  with- 
out any  union.” 

I answer,  our  situation  is  materially  changed.  While 
Great  Britain  held  her  authority,  she  awed  us.  She  ap- 
pointed governors  and  councils  for  the  American  provinces. 
She  had  a negative  upon  our  laws.  But  now,  our  circum- 
stances are  so  altered,  that  there  is  no  arguing  what  we 
shall  be,  from  what  we  have  been.* 

EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  DEBATES  OF  THE  COMMON- 
WEALTH OF  VIRGINIA. 

June  2,  1188.  Mr.  George  Nicholas.  Mr.  Chairman:  I 
feel  apprehensions  lest  the  subject  of  our  debates  should  be 
misunderstood.  Every  one  wishes  to  know  the  true  meaning 
of  the  system ; but  I fear  those  who  hear  us  will  think  we 
are  captiously  quibbling  on  words.  We  have  been  told,  iu 
the  course  of  this  business,  that  the  government  will  operate 
like  a screw.  Give  me  leave  to  say  that  the  exertions  of 
the  opposition  are  like  that  instrument.  They  catch  at 
every  thing,  and  take  it  into  their  vortex. 

* The  report  of  the  debates  in  the  Connecticut  Convention  is 
very  meagre,  occupying  but  a few  pages.  In  none  of  the 
speeches  reported  is  the  slavery  question  debated  at  all.  We 
copy  the  foregoing  from  Mr.  Ellsworth,  as  containing  healthy 
Union  sentiments,  peculiarly  applicable  to  a large  class  of 
people  at  the  present  time. 


THE  STATE  CONTENTIONS. 


127 


The  worthy  member  says  that  this  government  is  de- 
fective, because  it  comes  from  the  people. 

Its  greatest  recommendation  with  me,  is  putting  the 
power  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 

He  disapproves  of  it  because  it  does  not  say  in  what  par- 
ticular instances  the  militia  shall  be  called  out  to  execute 
the  laws. 

This  is  a power  of  the  Constitution,  and  particular  in- 
stances must  be  defined  by  the  legislature.  But,  says  the 
worthy  member,  those  laws  which  have  been  read  are  argu- 
ments against  the  Constitution,  because  they  show  that  the 
States  are  now  in  possession  of  the  power,  and  competent 
to  its  execution. 

Would  you  leave  this  power  in  the  States,  and  by  that 
means  deprive  the  general  government  of  a power  which 
will  be  necessary  for  its  existence  ? If  the  State  govern- 
ments find  this  power  necessary,  ought  not  the  general 
government  to  have  a similar  power  ? But,  sir,  there  is  no 
State  check  in  this  business.  The  gentleman  near  me  has 
shown  that  there  is  a very  important  check. 

Another  worthy  member  says  there  is  no  power  in  the 
States  to  quell  an  insurrection  of  slaves.  Have  they  it 
now?  If  they  have,  does  the  Constitution  take  it  away? 
If  it  does,  it  must  be  one  of  the  three  clauses  which  have 
been  mentioned  by  the  worthy  member.  The  first  clause 
gives  the  general  government  power  to  call  them  out  when 
necessary.  Does  this  take  it  away  from  the  States  ? Ho. 
But  it  gives  an  additional  security ; for,  beside  the  power 
in  the  State  governments  to  use  their  own  militia,  it  will  be 
the  duty  of  the  general  government  to  aid  them  with  the 
strength  of  the  Hnion  when  called  for. 

Ho  part  of  this  Constitution  can  show  that  this  power  is 
taken  away. 

But  an  argument  is  drawn  from  that  clause  which  says 
“that  no  State  shall  engage  in  war,  unless  actually  invaded, 


128 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


or  in  sucli  imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay.” 
What  does  this  prohibition  amount  to  ? It  must  be  a war 
with  a foreign  enemy  that  the  States  are  prohibited  from 
making;  for  the  exception  to  the  restriction  proves  it. 
The  restriction  includes  only  offensive  hostility,  as  they  are 
at  liberty  to  engage  in  war  when  invaded,  or  in  imminent 
danger.  They  are,  therefore,  not  restrained  from  quelling 
domestic  insurrections,  which  are  totally  different  from 
making  war  with  a foreign  power.  But  the  great  thing  to 
be  dreaded  is  that,  during  an  insurrection,  the  militia  will 
be  called  out  from  the  State. 

This  is  his  kind  of  argument.  Is  it  possible  that,  at 
such  a time,  the  general  government  would  order  the  militia 
to  be  called ! It  is  a groundless  objection  to  work  on 
gentlemen’s  apprehensions  within  these  walls.  As  to 
the  4th  article,  it  was  introduced  wholly  for  the  particular 
aid  of  the  States.  A republican  form  of  government  is 
guaranteed,  and  protection  is  secured  against  invasion 
and  domestic  violence  on  application.  Is  not  this  a guard 
as  strong  as  possible  ? Does  it  not  exclude  the  unneces- 
sary interference  of  Congress  in  business  of  this  sort. 

The  gentlemen  over  the  way-  cannot  tell  who  will  be  the 
militia  at  a future  day,  and  enumerates  dangers  of  select 
militia.  Let  me  attend  to  the  nature  of  gentlemen’s  objec- 
tions. One  objects  because  there  will  be  a select  militia ; 
another  objects  because  there  will  be  no  select  militia;  and 
yet  both  oppose  it  on  these  contradictory  principles. 

If  you  deny  the  general  government  the  power  of  call- 
ing out  the  militia,  there  must  be  a recurrence  to  a standing 
army. 

If  you  are  really  jealous  of  your  liberties  confide  in 
Congress. 

Mr.  George  Mason.  Mr.  Chairman  : This  is  a fatal  sec- 
tion, which  has  created  more  dangers  than  any  other.  The 
first  clause  allows  the  importation  of  slaves  for  twenty  years. 


THE  STATE  CONVENTION'S. 


129 


Under  the  royal  government,  this  evil  was  looked  upon  as 
a srreat  oppression,  and  many  attempts  were  made  to  pre- 
vent it ; but  the  interest  of  the  African  merchants  pre- 
vented its  prohibition.  No  sooner  did  the  Revolution  take 
place  than  it  was  thought  of.  It  was  one  of  the  great 
causes  of  our  separation  from  Great  Britain.  Its  exclu- 
sion has  been  a principal  object  of  this  State,  and  most  of 
the  States  of  the  Union. 

The  augmentation  of  slaves  weakens  the  States ; and 
such  a trade  is  diabolical  in  itself,  and  disgraceful  to  man- 
kind; yet,  by  this  Constitution,  it  is  continued  for  twenty 
years.  As  much  as  I value  a union  of  all  the  States,  I 
would  not  admit  the  Southern  States  into  the  Union  unless 
they  agree  to  the  discontinuance  of  this  disgraceful  trade, 
because  it  would  bring  weakness,  and  not  strength,  to  the 
Union. 

And,  though  this  infamous  traffic  be  continued,  we  have 
no  security  for  the  property  of  that  kind  which  we  have 
already.  There  is  no  clause  in  this  Constitution  to  secure 
it ; for  they  may  lay  such  a tax  as  will  amount  to  manu- 
mission. And  should  the  government  be  amended,  still 
this  detestable  kind  of  commerce  will  be  continued  till  after 
the  expiration  of  twenty  years ; for  the  5th  article  which 
provides  for  amendments,  expressly  excepts  this  clause.  I 
have  ever  looked  upon  this  as  a most  disgraceful  thing  to 
America. 

I cannot  express  my  detestation  of  it.  Yet  they  have 
riot  secured  us  the  property  of  the  slaves  we  have  already. 

So  that  “they  have  done  what  they  ought  not  to  have 
Kone,  and  have  left  undone  what  they  ought  to  have 
done.” 

Mr.  Madison.  Mr.  Chairman  : I should  conceive  this 
clause  to  be  impolitic,  if  it  were  one  of  those  things  which 
could  be  excluded  without  encountering  greater  evils. 

The  Southern  States  would  not  have  entered  into  the 

9 


130 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


Union  of  America  without  the  temporary  permission  of  that 
trade  ; and  if  they  were  excluded  from  the  Union,  the  con- 
sequences might  be  dreadful  to  them  and  to  us.  We  are 
not  in  a worse  situation  than  before.  The  traffic  is  pro- 
hibited by  our  laws,  and  we  may  continue  the  prohibition. 
The  Union  in  general  is  not  in  a worse  situation. 

Under  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  it  might  be  con- 
tinued forever ; but,  by  this  clause,  an  end  may  be  put  to  it 
after  twenty  years.  There  is,  therefore,  an  amelioration  of 
our  circumstances. 

A tax  may  be  laid  in  the  mean  time  ; but  it  is  limited  ; 
otherwise  Congress  might  lay  such  a tax  as  would  amount 
to  a prohibition.  From  the  mode  of  representation  and 
taxation,  Congress  cannot  lay  such  a tax  on  slaves  as  will 
amount  to  manumission. 

Another  clause  secures  us  that  property  which  we  now 
possess. 

At  present,  if  any  slave  elopes  to  any  of  those  States 
where  slaves  are  free,  he  becomes  emancipated  by  their  laws  ; 
for  the  laws  of  the  States  are  uncharitable  to  one  another  in 
this  respect.  But  in  this  Constitution,  “ no  person  held  to 
service  or  labor  in  one  state,  under  the  laws  thereof,  escap- 
ing into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regula- 
tion therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor;  but 
shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such 
service  or  labor  shall  be  due.”  This  clause  was  expressly 
inserted,  to  enable  owners  of  slaves  to  reclaim  them. 

This  is  a better  security  than  any  that  now  exists.  No 
power  is  given  to  the  general  government  to  interpose  with 
respect  to  the  property  in  slaves  now  held  by  the  States. 
The  taxation  of  this  State  being  equal  only  to  its  represen- 
tation, such  a tax  cannot  be  laid  as  he  supposes. 

They  cannot  prevent  the  importation  of  slaves  for  twenty 
years  ; but  after  that  period  they  can.  The  gentlemen  from 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia  argued  in  this  manner  : “We 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


131 


have  now  liberty  to  import  this  species  of  property,  and 
much  of  the  property  now  possessed  had  been  purchased,  or 
otherwise  acquired,  in  contemplation  of  improving  it  by  the 
assistance  of  imported  slaves.  What  would  be  the  conse- 
sequence  of  hindering  us  from  it  ? The  slaves  of  Virginia 
would  rise  in  value,  and  we  should  be  obliged  to  go  to  your 
markets.” 

I need  not  expatiate  on  this  subject.  Great  as  the  evil 
is,  a dismemberment  of  the  Union  would  be  worse.  If 
those  States  should  disunite  from  the  other  States  for  not 
indulging  them  in  the  temporary  continuance  of  this  traffic, 
they  might  solicit  and  obtain  aid  from  foreign  powers. 

Mr.  Tyler  warmly  enlarged  on  the  impolicy,  iniquity, 
and  disgracefulness  of  this  wicked  traffic.  He  thought  the 
reasons  urged  by  gentlemen  in  defense  of  it  were  inconclu- 
sive and  ill  founded. 

It  was  one  cause  of  the  complaints  against  British 
tyranny,  that  this  trade  was  permitted.  The  Revolution  had 
put  a period  to  it ; but  now  it  was  to  be  revived.  He  thought 
nothing  could  justify  it. 

This  temporary  restriction  on  Congress  militated,  in  his 
opinion,  against  the  arguments  of  gentlemen  on  th&  other 
side,  that  what  was  not  given  up  was  retained  to  the  States  ; 
for  that,  if  this  restriction  had  not  been  inserted,  Congress 
could  have  prohibited  the  African  trade.  The  power  of 
prohibiting  it  was  not  expressly  delegated  to  them  ; yet 
they  would  have  had  it  by  implication,  if  this  restraint  had 
not  been  provided.  This  seemed  to  him  to  demonstrate 
most  clearly  the  necessity  of  restraining  them,  by  a bill  of 
rights,  from  infringing  our  unalienable  rights.  It  was  im- 
material whether  the  bill  of  rights  was  by  itself,  or  included 
in  the  Constitution. 

But  he  contended  for  it  one  way  or  the  other.  It  would 
be  justiSed  by  our  own  example  and  that  of  England. 


L32 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


His  earnest  desire  was,  that  it  should  be  handed  down  to 
posterity  that  he  had  opposed  this  wicked  clause. 

Mr.  Madison  was  surprised  that  any  gentleman  should 
return  to  the  clauses  which  had  already  been  discussed. 

He  begged  the  gentleman  to  read  the  clauses  which  gave 
the  power  of  exclusive  legislation,  and  he  might  see  that 
nothing  could  be  done  without  the  consent  of  the  States. 

With  respect  to  the  supposed  operation  of  what  was  de- 
nominated the  sweeping  clause,  the  gentleman,  he  said,  was 
mistaken  ; for  it  only  extended  to  the  enumerated  powers. 

Should  Congress  attempt  to  extend  it  to  any  power  not 
enumerated,  it  would  not  be  warranted  by  the  clause. 

As  to  the  restriction  in  the  clause  under  consideration,  it 
was  a restraint  on  the  exercise  of  a power  expressly  dele- 
_ gated  to  Congress ; namely,  that  of  regulating  commerce 
with  foreign  nations. 

Patrick  Henry  insisted  that  the  insertion  of  these  restric- 
tions on  Congress  was  a plain  demonstration  that  Congress 
could  exercise  powers  by  implication.  The  gentleman  had 
admitted  that  Congress  could  have  interdicted  the  African 
'trade,  were  it  not  for  this  restriction.  If  so,  the  power,  not 
having  been  expressly  delegated,  must  be  obtained  by  im- 
plication. He  demanded  where,  then,  was  their  doctrine 
of  reserved  rights.  He  wished  for  negative  clauses. to  pre- 
vent them  from  assuming  any  powers  but  those  expressly 
given.  He  asked  why  it  was  omitted  to  secure  us  that  pro- 
perty in  slaves  which  we  held  now.  He  feared  its  omission 
was  done  with  design.  They  might  lay  such  taxes  on 
slaves  as  would  amount  to  emancipation  ; and  then  the 
Southern  States  would  be  the  only  sufferers. 

His  opinion  was  confirmed  by  the  mode  of  levying  mo- 
ney. Congress,  he  observed,  had  power  to  lay  and  collect 
taxes,  imposts,  and  excises.  Imposts  (or  duties)  and  ex- 
cises were  to  be  uniform  ; but  this  uniformity  did  not  ex- 
tend to  taxes.  This  might  compel  the  Southern  States  to 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


133 


liberate  their  .legroes.  He  wished  this  property,  therefore, 
to  be  guarded.  He  considered  the  clause,  which  had  been 
adduced  by  the  gentleman  as  a security  for  this  property, 
as  no  security  at  all.  It  was  no  more  than  this — that  a 
runaway  negro  could  be  taken  up  in  Maryland  or  New 
York. 

This  could  not  prevent  Congress  from  interfering  with 
that  property  by  laying  a grievous  and  enormous  tax  on  it, 
so  as  to  compel  owners  to  emancipate  their  slaves  rather 
than  pay  the  tax. 

He  apprehended  it  would  be  productive  of  much  stock- 
jobbing,  and  that  they  would  play  into  one  another’s  hands 
in  such  a manner  as  that  this  property  would  be  lost  to  the 
country. 

Mr.  George  Nicholas  wondered  that  gentlemen  who 
were  against  slavery  should  be  opposed  to  this  clause ; as, 
after  that  period,  the  slave  trade  would  be  done  away. 

He  asked  if  gentlemen  do  not  see  the  inconsistency  of 
their  arguments. 

They  object,  says  he,  to  the  Constitution,  because  the 
slave  trade  is  laid  open  for  twenty  odd  years ; and  yet  they 
tell  you  that,  by  some  latent  operation  of  it,  the  slaves  who 
are  so  now  will  be  manumitted. 

At  the  same  moment  it  is  opposed  for  being  promotive 
and  destructive  of  slavery.  He  contended  that  it  was  ad- 
vantageous to  Virginia  that  it  should  be  in  the  power  of 
Congress  to  prevent  the  importation  of  slaves  after  twenty 
years,  as  it  would  then  put  a period  to  the  evil  com- 
plained of. 

As  the  Southern  States  would  not  confederate  without 
this  clause,  he  asked  if  gentlemen  would  rather  dissolve  the 
confederacy  than  to  suffer  this  temporary  inconvenience, 
admitting  it  to  be  such. 

Virginia  might  continue  the  prohibition  of  such  importa- 
tion during  the  intermediate  period,  and  would  be  benefited 


134 


TIIE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


by  it,  as  a tax  of  ten  dollars  on  each  slave  might  be  laid,  of 
which  she  would  receive  a share. 

He  endeavored  to  obviate  the  objection  of  gentlemen, 
that  the  restriction  on  Congress  was  a proof  that  they 
would  have  powers  not  given  them,  by  remarking,  that  they 
would  only  have  had  a general  superintendency  of  trade,  if 
the  restriction  had  not  been  inserted. 

But  the  Southern  States  insisted  on  this  exception  to  that 
general  superintendency  for  twenty  years.  It  could  not, 
therefore,  have  been  a power  by  implication,  as  the  restric- 
tion was  an  exception  from  a delegated  power.  The  taxes 
could  not,  as  had  been  suggested,  be  laid  so  high  on  negroes 
as  to  amount  to  emancipation  ; because  taxation  and  repre- 
sentation were  fixed  according  to  the  census  established  in 
the  Constitution.  The  exception  of  taxes  from  the  unifor- 
mity annexed  to  duties  and  excises  could  not  have  the 
operation  contended  for  by  the  gentleman,  because  other 
clauses  had  clearly  and  positively  fixed  the  census. 

Had  taxes  been  uniform,  it  would  have  been  universally 
objected  to ; for  no  one  object  could  be  selected  without 
involving  great  inconveniences  and  oppressions. 

But,  says,  Mr.  Nicholas,  is  it  from  the  general  govern- 
ment we  are  to  fear  emancipation  ? Gentlemen  will  recollect 
what  I said  in  another  house,  and  what  other  gentlemen 
have  said,  that  advocated  emancipation.  Give  me  leave  to 
say,  that  clause  is  a great  security  for  our  slave  tax.  I can 
tell  the  committee  that  the  people  of  our  own  country  are 
reduced  to  beggary  by  the  taxes  on  negroes. 

Had  this  Constitution  been  adopted,  it  would  not  have 
been  the  case.  The  taxes  were  laid  on  all  our  negroes. 
By  this  system  two-fifths  are  exempted. 

He  then  added,  that  he  had  not  imagined  gentlemen 
would  support  here  what  they  had  opposed  in  another  place. 

Mr.  Henry  replied  that,  though  the  proportion  of  each 
was  to  be  fixed  by  the  census,  and  three-fifths  of  the  slaves 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


135 


only  were  included  in  the  enumeration,  yet  the  proportion 
of  Virginia,  being  once  fixed,  might  be  laid  on  blacks  and 
blacks  only  ; for  the  mode  of  raising  the  proportion  of  each 
State  being  to  be  directed  by  Congress,  they  might  make 
slaves  the  sole  object  to  raise  it. 

Personalities  he  wished  to  take  leave  of ; they  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  question,  which  was  solely  whether  that  paper 
was  wrong  or  not. 

Mr.  Nicholas  replied,  that  negroes  must  be  considered  as 
persons  or  property.  If  as  property,  the  proportion  of 
taxes  to  be  laid  on  them  was  fixed  in  the  Constitution. 

If  he  apprehended  a poll  tax  on  negroes,  the  Constitu- 
tion had  prevented  it ; for,  by  the  census,  where  a white 
man  paid  ten  shillings,  a negro  paid  but  six  shillings ; for 
the  exemption  of  two  fifths  of  them  reduced  it  to  that  pro- 
portion. 

Mr.  George  Mason  said,  that  gentlemen  might  think 
themselves  secured  by  the  restriction,  in  the  fourth  clause, 
that  no  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  should  be  laid  but  in 
proportion  to  the  census  b’efore  directed  to  be  taken ; but 
that,  when  maturely  considered,  it  would  be  found  to  be  no 
security  whatsoever.  It  was  nothing  but  a direct  assertion, 
or  mere  confirmation  of  the  clause  which  fixed  the  ratio  of 
taxes  and  representation.  It  only  meant  that  the  quantum 
to  be  received  of  each  State  should  be  in  proportion  to 
their  numbers,  in  the  manner  therein  directed.  But  the 
general  government  was  not  precluded  from  laying  the 
proportion  of  any  particular  State  on  any  one  species  of 
property  they  might  think  proper. 

For  instance,  if  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  were  to  be 
raised,  they  might  lay  the  whole  of  the  proportion  of  the 
Southern  States  on  the  blacks,  or  any  one  species  of 
property ; so  that  by  laying  taxes  too  heavily  on  slaves, 
they  might  totally  annihilate  that  kind  of  property.  No 
real  security  could  arise  from  the  clause  which  provides 


136 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


that  persons  held  to  labor  in  one  state,  escaping  into 
another,  shall  be  delivered  up.  This  only  meant  that  runa- 
way slaves  should  not  be  protected  in  other  States.  As  to 
the  exclusion  of  ex  post  facto  laws,  it  could  not  be  said  to 
create  any  security  in  this  case ; for  laying  a tax  on  slaves 
would  not  be  ex  post  facto. 

Mr  Madison  replied,  that  even  the  Southern  States, 
which  were  most  affected,  were  perfectly  satisfied  with  this 
provision,  and  dreaded  no  danger  to  the  property  they  now 
hold.  It  appeared  to  him  that  the  general  government 
would  not  intermeddle  with  that  property  for  twenty  years, 
but  to  lay  a tax  on  every  slave  imported,  not  exceeding  ten 
dollars  ; and  that,  after  the  expiration  of  that  period,  they 
might  prohibit  the  traffic  altogether.  The  census  in  the 
Constitution  was  intended  to  introduce  equality  in  the  bur- 
dens to  be  laid  on  the  community. 

No  gentleman  objected  to  laying  duties,  imposts,  and  ex- 
cises uniformly.  But  uniformity  of  taxes  would  be  subver- 
sive of  the  principles  of  equality  ; for  it  was  not  possible  to 
select  any  article  which  would'  be  easy  for  one  State  but 
what  would  be  heavy  for  another ; that  the  proportion  of 
each  State  being  ascertained,  it  would  be  raised  by  the 
general  government  in  the  most  convenient  manner  for  the 
people,  and  not  by  the  selection  of  any  one  particular  object ; 
that  there  must  be  some  degree  of  confidence  put  in  agents, 
or  else  we  must  reject  a state  of  civil  society  altogether. 

Another  great  security  to  this  property,  which  he  men- 
tioned, was,  that  five  States  were  greatly  interested  in  that 
species  of  property,  and  there  were  other  States  which  had 
some  slaves,  and  had  made  no  attempt,  or  taken  any  step, 
to  take  them  from  the  people. 

There  were  a few  slaves  in  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and 
Connecticut;  these  States  would,  probably,  oppose  any  at- 
tempts to  annihilate  this  species  of  property. 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


137 


He  concluded  by  observing  that  he  should  be  glad  to 
eave  the  decision  of  this  to  the  committee. 

Mr.  Henry.  As  much  as  I deplore  slavery,  I see  that 
prudence  forbids  its  abolition.  I deny  that  the  general 
government  ought  to  set  them  free,  because  a decided  ma- 
jority of  the  States  have  not  the  ties  of  sympathy  and  fel- 
low-feeling for  those  whose  interest  would  be  affected  by 
their  emancipation.  The  majority  of  Congress  is  to  the 
North,  and  the  slaves  are  to  the  South. 

In  this  situation,  I see  a great  deal  of  the  property  of  the 
people  of  Virginia  in  jeopardy,  and  their  peace  and  tran- 
quillity gone.  I repeat  it  again,  that  it  would  rejoice  my 
very  soul  that  every  one  of  my  fellow-beings  were  emanci- 
pated. 

As  we  ought  with  gratitude  to  admire  that  decree  of 
Heaven  which  has  numbered  us  among  the  free,  we  ought 
to  lament  and  deplore  the  necessity  of  holding  our  fellow- 
men  in  bondage. 

But  is  it  practicable,  by  any  human  means,  to  liberate 
them  without  producing  the  most  dreadful  and  ruinous  con- 
sequences ? We  ought  to  possess  them  in  the  manner  we 
inherited  them  from  our  ancestors,  as  their  manumission  is 
incompatible  with  the  felicity  of  our  country. 

But  we  ought  to  soften,  as  much  as  possible,  the  rigor  of 
their  unhappy  fate.  I know,  that  in  a variety  of  particular 
instances,  the  legislature,  listening  to  complaints,  have  ad- 
mitted their  emancipation.  Let  me  not  dwell  on  this  subject. 

I will  only  add,  that  this,  as  well  as  every  other  property 
of  the  people  of  Yirginii,  is  in  jeopardy,  and  put  in  the 
hands  of  those  who  have  no  similarity  of  situation  with  us. 

This  is  a local  matter,  and  I can  see  no  propriety  in  sub- 
jecting it  to  Congress. 

Gov.  Randolph.  Mr.  Chairman  : Once  more,  sir,  I ad- 
dress you,  and  perhaps  it  will  be  the  last  time  I shall  speak 


138 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


concerning  this  Constitution,  unless  I be  urged  by  the  ob- 
servations of  some  gentlemen. 

Although  this  is  not  the  first  time  that  my  mind  has  been 
brought  to  contemplate  this  awful  period,  yet  I acknowl- 
edge it  is  not  rendered  less  awful  by  familiarity  with  it. 

Did  I persuade  myself  that  those  fair  days  were  present 
which  the  honorable  gentlemen  described — could  I bring 
my  mind  to  believe  that  there  were  peaco  and  tranquillity 
in  this  land,  and  that  there  was  no  storm  gathering  which 
would  burst,  and  that  previous  amendments  could  be  re- 
tained— I would  concur  with  the  honorable  gentleman  ; for 
nothing  but  the  fear  of  inevitable  destruction  would  lead 
me  to  vote  for  the  Constitution  in  spite  of  the  objections  I 
have  to  it. 

But,  sir,  what  have  I heard  to-day  ? I sympathized 
most  warmly  with  what  other  gentlemen  said  yesterday, 
that,  let  the  contest  be  what  it  may,  the  minority  should 
submit  to  the  majority.  With  satisfaction  and  joy  I heard 
what  he  then  said — that  he  would  submit,  aud  that  there 
should  be  peace  if  his  power  could  preserve  it. 

What  a sad  reverse  to-day  ! Are  we  not  told,  by  way 
of  counterpart  to  language  that  did  him  honor,  that  he 
would  secede  ? I hope  he  will  pardon,  and  correct  me  if 
I misrecite  him  ; but  if  not  corrected,  my  interpretation  is, 
that  secession  by  him  will  be  the  consequence  of  adoption 
without  previous  amendments. 

[Here  Mr.  Henry  explained  himself,  and  denied  having 
said  any  thing  of  secession  ; but  that  he  said,  he  would 
have  no  hand  in  subsequent  amendments ; that  he  would 
remain  and  vote,  and  afterward  he  would  have  no  business 
here.] 

I see,  continued  His  Excellency,  that  I am  not  mistaken 
in  my  thoughts. 

The  honorable  gentleman  says,  he  will  remain  and  vote 
on  the  questi  m,  but  after  that  he  has  no  business  here,  and 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


139 


ft,  it  lie  will  go  home.  I beg  to  make  a few  remarks  on  the 
subject  of  secession. 

If  there  be  in  this  house  members  who  have  in  contem- 
plation to  secede  from  the  majority,  let  me  conjure  them, 
by  all  the  ties  of  honor  and  duty,  to  consider  what  they  are 
about  to  do. 

Some  of  them  have  more  property  than  I have,  and  all 
of  them  are  equal  to  me  in  personal  rights.  Such  an 
idea  of  refusing  to  submit  to  the  decision  of  the  majority 
is  destructive  of  every  republican  principle. 

It  will  kindle  a civil  war,  and  reduce  every  thing  to  an- 
archy and  confusion.  To  avoid  a calamity  so  lamentable, 
I would  submit  to  it,  if  it  contained  greater  evils  thau  it 
does. 

What  are  they  to  say  to  their  constituents  when  they  go 
home?  “We  come  here  to  tell  you  that  liberty  is  in 
danger,  and,  though  the  majority  is  in  favor  of  it,  you 
ought  not  to  submit.”  Can  any  man  consider,  without 
shuddering  with  horror,  the  awful  consequences  of  such 
desperate  conduct?  I entreat  men  to  consider  and  ponder 
what  good  citizenship  requires  of  them. 

I conjure  them  to  contemplate  the  consequences  as  to 
themselves  as  well  as  others.  They  themselves  will  be  over- 
whelmed in  the  general  disorder. 

I did  not  think  that  the  proposition  of  the  honorable 
gentleman  near  me  (Mr.  White)  could  have  met  with  the 
treatment  it  has.  The  honorable  gentleman  says  there  are 
only  three  rights  stipulated  in  it.  I thought  this  error 
might  have  been  accounted  for  at  first ; but  after  he  read 
it,  the  continuance  of  the  mistake  has  astonished  me. 

He  has  wandered  from  the  point.  [Here  he  read  Mr. 
White’s  proposition.]  Where  in  this  paper  do  you  dis- 
cover that  the  people  of  Virginia  are  tenacious  of  three 
rights  only  ? It  declares  that  all  power  comes  from  the 
people,  and  whatever  is  not  granted  by  them  remains  with 


140 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


them ; that  among  other  things  remaining  with  them  are 
liberty  of  the  press,  right  of  conscience,  and  some  other 
essential  rights.  Could  you  devise  any  express  form  of 
words  by  which  the  rights  contained  in  the  bill  of  rights  of 
Virginia  could  be  better  secured  or  more  fully  compre- 
hended ? What  is  the  paper  which  he  offers  in  the  form 
of  a bill  of  rights  ? Will  that  better  secure  our  rights  than 
a declaration  like  this  ? All  rights  are  therein  declared  to 
be  completely  vested  in  the  people,  unless  expressly  given 
away.  Can  there  be  a more  pointed  or  positive  reser- 
vation ? 

That  honorable  gentleman,  and  some  others,  have  insisted 
that  the  abolition  of  slavery  will  result  from  it,  and  at  the 
same  time  have  complained  that  it  encourages  its  continu- 
ation. 

The  inconsistency  proves,  in  some  degree,  the  futility  of 
their  arguments. 

But  if  it  be  not  conclusive,  to  satisfy  the  committee  that 
there  is  no  danger  of  enfranchisement  taking  place,  I beg 
leave  to  refer  them  to  the  paper  itself. 

I hope  that  there  is  none  here  who,  considering  the  sub- 
ject in  the  calm  light  of  philosophy,  will  advance  an  objec- 
tion dishonorable  to  Virginia — that,  at  the  moment  they 
are  securing  the  the  rights  of  their  citizens,  an  objection  is 
started  that  there  is  a spark  of  hope  that  those  unfortunate 
men  now  held  in  bondage  may,  by  the  operation  of  the 
general  government,  be  made  free.  But  if  any  gentleman 
be  terrified  by  this  apprehension,  let  him  read  the  system. 

I ask,  and  I will  ask  again  and  again,  till  I be  answered 
(not  by  declamation),  Where  is  the  part  that  has  a tendency 
to  the  abolition  of  slavery?  Is  it  the  clause  which  says 
that  “the  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any 
of  the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit  shall 
be  prohibited  by  Congress  prior  to  the  year  1808”? 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


141 


This  is  an  exception  from  the  power  of  regulating  com- 
merce, anrl  the  restriction  is  only  to  continue  till  1808. 

Then  Congress  can,  by  the  exercise  of  that  power,  pre- 
vent future  importations  ; but  does  it  affect  the  existing 
state  of  slavery  ? Were  it  right  here  to  mention  what 
passed  in  Convention  on  the  occasion,  I might  tell  you  that 
the  Southern  States,  even  South  Carolina  herself  conceived 
this  property  to  he  secure  by  these  words. 

I believe,  whatever  we  may  think  here,  that  there  was  not 
a member  of  the  Virginia  delegation  who  had  the  smallest 
suspicion  of  the  abolition  of  slavery.  Go  to  their  mean- 
ing. Point  out  the  clause  where  this  formidable  power  of 
emancipation  is  inserted. 

But  another  claase  of  the  Constitution  proves  the  ab- 
surdity of  the  supposition.  The  words  of  the  clause  are, 
“jSTo  persons  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under 
the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence 
of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be-  discharged  from  such 
service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the 
party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due.”  Every 
one  knows  that  slaves  are  held  to  service  and  labor.  And 
when  authority  is  given  to  owners  of  slaves  to  vindicate 
their  property,  can  it  be  supposed  they  can  be  deprived 
of  it  ? 

If  a citizen  of  this  State,  in  consequence  of  this  clause, 
can  take  his  runaway  slave  in  Maryland,  can  it  be  seriously 
thought  that,  after  taking  him  and  bringing  him  home,  he  could 
be  made  free  ? I observed  that  the  honorable  gentleman’s 
proposition  comes  in  a truly  questionable  shape,  and  is  still 
more  extraordinary  and  unaccountable  for  another  conside- 
ration— that  although  we  went,  article  by  article,  through 
the  Constitution,  and  although  we  did  not  expect  a general 
review  of  the  subject  (as  a most  comprehensive  view  had 
been  taken  of  it  before  it  was  regularly  debated),  yet  we 


142 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


are  carried  back  to  the  clause  giving  that  dreadful  power, 
for  the  general  welfare. 

Pardon  me,  if  I remind  you  of  the  true  state  of  that 
business.  I appeal  to  the  candor  of  the  honorable  gentle- 
man, and  if  he  thinks  it  an  improper  appeal,  I ask  the 
gentlemen  here,  whether  there  be  a general,  indefinite 
power  of  providing  for  the  general  welfare  ? The  power 
is,  “ to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excise,  to 
pay  the  debts,  and  provide  for  the  common  defense  and 
general  welfare  so  that  they  can  only  raise  money  by 
these  means,  in  order  to  provide  for  the  general  welfare. 

No  man  who  reads  it  can  say  it  is  general,  as  the  honor- 
able gentleman  represents  it.  You  must  violate  every  rule 
of  construction  and  common  sense,  if  you  sever  it  from  the 
power  of  raising  money,  and  annex  it  to  any  thing  else,  in 
order  to  make  it  that  formidable  power  which  it  is  repre- 
sented to  be. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  DEBATES  IN  THE  CONVEN- 
TION OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

July  24,  1788.  Mr.  Goudy.  Mr.  Chairman  : This  clause 
of  taxation  will  give  an  advantage  to  some  States  over  the 
others.  It  will  be  oppressive  to  the  Southern  States. 
Taxes  are  equal  to  our  representation.  To  augment  our 
taxes,  and  increase  our  burdens,  our  negroes  are  to  be  rep- 
resented. If  a State  has  fifty  thousand  negroes,  she  is  to 
send  one  representative  for  them.  I wish  not  to  be  repre- 
sented with  negroes,  especially  if  it  increases  my  burdens. 

Mr.  Davie.  Mr.  Chairman : I will  endeavor  to  obviate 
what  the  gentleman  last  up  said.  I wonder  to  see  gentle- 
men so  precipitate  and  hasty  on  a subject  of  awful  import- 
ance. It  ought  to  be  considered,  that  some  of  us  are  slow 
of  apprehension,  or  not  having  those  quick  conceptions 
and  luminous  understandings,  of  which  other  gentlemen 
may  be  possessed. 

The  gentleman  “ does  not  wish  to  be  represented  with 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


143 


negroes.”  This,  sir,  is  an  unhappy  species  of  population  ; 
but  we  cannot  at  present  alter  their  situation. 

The  Eastern  States  had  great  jealousies  on  this  subject. 
They  insisted  that  their  cows  and  horses  were  equally 
entitled  to  representation  ; that  the  one  was  property  as 
well  as  the  other. 

It  became  our  duty,  on  the  other  hand,  to  acquire  as 
much  weight  as  possible  in  the  legislation  of  the  Union; 
and,  as  the  Northern  States  were  more  populous  in  whites, 
this  only  could  be  done  by  insisting  that  a certain  propor- 
tion of  our  slates  should  make  a part  of  the  computed 
population.  It  was  attempted  to  form  a rule  of  repre- 
sentation from  a compound  ratio  of  wealth  and  population  ; 
but,  on  consideration,  it  was  found  impracticable  to  deter- 
mine the  comparative  value  of  lands,  and  other  property,  in 
so  extensive  a territory,  with  any  degree  of  accuracy  ; and 
population  alone  was  adopted  as  the  only  practicable  rule 
or  criterion  of  representation. 

It  was  urged  by  the  deputies  of  the  Eastern  States,  that 
a representation  of  two-fifths  would  be  of  little  utility,  and 
that  their  entire  representation  would  be  unequal  and  bur- 
densome— that,  in  a time  of  war,  slaves  rendered  a country 
more  vulnerable,  while  its  defense  devolved  upon  its  free 
inhabitants.  On  the  other  hand,  we  insisted  that,  in  time 
of  peace,  they  contributed,  by  their  labor,  to  the  general 
wealth,  as  well  as  other  members  of  the  community — that, 
as  rational  beings,  they  had  a right  of  representation,  and, 
in  some  instances,  might  be  highly  useful  in  war. 

On  these  principles,  the  Eastern  States  gave  the  matter 
up,  and  consented  to  the  regulation  as  it  has  been  read. 

I hope  these  reasons  will  appear  satisfactory.  It  is  the 
same  rule  or  principle  which  was  proposed  some  years  ago 
by  Congress,  and  assented  to  by  twelve  of  the  States.  It 
may  wound  the  delicacy  of  the  gentleman  from  Guilford, 
(Mr.  Goudy,)  but  I hope  he  will  endeavor  to  accommodate 


144 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


liis  feelings  to  the  interest  and  circumstances  of  bis  country. 
[1st  clause  of  the  9th  section  read.] 

Mr.  J.  McDowall,  wished  to  hear  the  reasons  of  this  re- 
striction. 

Mr.  Spaight  answered,  that  there  was  a contest  between 
the  Northern  and  Southern  States ; that  the  Southern 
States,  whose  principal  support  depended  on  the  labor  of 
slaves,  would  not  consent  to  the  desire  of  the  Northern 
States  to  exclude  the  importation  of  slaves  absolutely;  that 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia  insisted  on  this  clause,  as  they 
were  now  in  want  of  hands  to  cultivate  their  lands;  that  in 
the  course  of  twenty  years  they  would  be  fully  supplied  ; that 
the  trade  would  be  abolished  then,  and  that,  in  the  mean  time, 
some  tax  or  duty  might  be  laid  on  it. 

Mr.  M’Dowall  replied,  that  the  explanation  was  just  such 
as  he  expected,  and  by  no  means  satisfactory  to  him,  and 
that  he  looked  upon  it  as  a very  objectionable  part  of  the 
system. 

Mr.  Iredell.  Mr.  Chairman  : I rise  to  express  sentiments 
similar  to  those  of  the  gentleman  from  Craven.  For  my 
part,  were  it  practicable  to  put  an  end  to  the  importation 
of  slaves  immediately,  it  would  give  me  the  greatest  plea- 
sure ; for  it  is  a trade  inconsistent  with  the  rights  of  hu- 
manity, and  under  which  great  cruelties  have  been  ex- 
ercised. 

When  the  entire  abolition  of  slavery  takes  place,  it  will 
be  an  event  which  must  be  pleasing  to  every  generous  mind, 
and  every  friend  of  human  nature ; but  we  often  wish  for 
things  which  are  not  attainable.  It  was  the  wish  of  a great 
majority  of  the  Convention  to  put  an  end  to  the  trade  im- 
mediately ; but  the  States  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia 
would  not  agree  to  it.  Consider,  then,  what  would  be  the 
difference  between  our  present  situation  in  this  respect,  if 
we  do  not  agree  to  the  Constitution,  and  what  it  will  be  if 
we  do  agree  to  it. 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


145 


Tf  we  do  not  agree  to  it,  do  we  remedy  the  evil  ? No, 
sir,  we  do  not.  For  if  the  Constitution  be  not  adopted,  it 
will  be  in  the  power  of  every  State  to  continue  it  forever. 

They  may  or  may  not  abolish  it,  at  their  discretion.  But 
if  we  adopt  the  Constitution,  the  trade  must  cease  after 
twenty  years,  if  Congress  declare  so,  whether  particular 
States  please  so  or  not ; surely,  then,  we  can  gain  by  it. 

This  was  the  utmost  that  could  be  obtained.  I heartily 
wish  more  could  have  been  done.  But,  as  it  is,  this  govern- 
ment is  nobly  distinguished  above  others  by  that  very  pro- 
vision. 

Where  is  there  another  country  in  which  such  a restriction 
prevails  ? We,  therefore,  sir,  set  an  example  of  humanity, 
by  providing  for  the  abolition  of  this  inhuman  traffic, 
though  at  a distant  period. 

I hope,  therefore,  that  this  part  of  the  Constitution  will 
not  be  condemned  because  it  has  not  stipulated  for  what 
was  impracticable  to  obtain. 

Mr.  Spaight  further  explained  the  clause.  That  the 
limitation  of  this  trade  to  the  term  of  twenty  years  was 
a compromise  between  the  Eastern  States  and  the  Southern 
States.  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  wished  to  extend  the 
term. 

The  Eastern  States  insisted  on  the  entire  abolition  of  the 
trade.  That  the  State  of  North  Carolina  had  not  thought 
proper  to  pass  any  law  prohibiting  the  importation  of  slaves, 
and  therefore  its  delegation  in  the  Convention  did  not  think 
themselves  authorized  to  contend  for  an  immediate  prohibi- 
tion of  it. 

Mr.  Iredell  added  to  what  he  had  said  before,  that  the 
States  of  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  had  lost  a great  many 
slaves  during  the  war,  and  that  they  wished  to  supply  the 
loss. 

Mr.  Galloway.  Mr.  Chairman  : The  explanation  given  to 
10 


146 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


this  clause  does  not  satisfy  my  mind.  I wish  to  see  this 
abominable  trade  put  an  end  to. 

But  in  case  it  be  thought  proper  to  continue  this  abomi- 
nable traffic  for  twenty  years,  yet  I do  not  wish  to  see  the 
tax  on  the  importation  extended  to  all  persons  whatsoever. 
Our  situation  is  different  from  +he  people  of  the  North. 
We  want  citizens  ; they  jo  not. 

Instead  of  laying  a tax,  we  ought  to  give  a bounty  to  en- 
courage foreigners  to  come  among  us.  With  respect  to  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  it  requires  the  utmost  consideration. 
The  property  of  the  Southern  States  consists  principally  of 
slaves.  If  they  mean  to  do  away  slavery  altogether,  this 
property  will  be  destroyed.  I apprehend  it  means  to  bring 
forward  manumission.  If  we  must  manumit  our  slaves, 
what  country  shall  we  send  them  to  ? It  is  impossible 
for  us  to  be  happy  if,  after  manumission,  they  are  to  stay 
among  us. 

Mr.  Iredell.  Mr.  Chairman  : The  worthy  gentleman,  I 
believe,  has  misunderstood  this  clause,  which  runs  in  the 
following  words  : “ The  migration  or  importation  of  such 

persons  as  any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper 
to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to 
the  year  1808  ; but  a tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such 
importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  person.” 
Now,  sir,  observe  that  the  Eastern  States,  who  long  ago 
have  abolished  slaves,  did  not  approve  of  the  expression 
slaves  ; they  therefore  used  another,  that  answered  the  same 
purpose. 

The  committee  will  observe  the  distinction  between  the 
words  migration  and  importation.  The  first  part  of  the 
clause  will  extend  to  persons  who  come  into  this  country  as 
free  people,  or  are  brought  as  slaves.  But  the  last  part 
extends  to  slaves  only.  The  word  migration  refers  to  free 
persons  ; but  the  word  importation  refers  to  slaves,  because 
free  people  cannot  be  said  to  be  imported.  The  tax,  there- 


THE  STATE  CONTENTIONS, 


147 


fore,  is  only  to  be  laid  on  slaves  who  are  imported,  and  not 
on  free  persons  who  migrate. 

I further  beg  leave  to  say  that  the  gentleman  is  mistaken 
in  another  thing.  He  seems  to  say  that  this  extends  to  the 
abolition  of  slavery.  Is  there  anything  in  this  Constitution 
which  says  that  Congress  shall  have  it  in  their  power  to 
abolish  the  slavery  of  those  slaves  who  are  now  in  the  coun- 
try ? Is  it  not  the  plain  meaning  of  it,  that  after  twenty 
years  they  may  prevent  the  future  importation  of  slaves  ? 
It  does  not  extend  to  those  now  in  the  country. 

There  is  another  circumstance  to  be  observed.  There  is 
no  authority  vested  in  Congress  to  restrain  the  States,  in 
the  interval  of  twenty  years,  from  doing  what  they  please. 
If  they  wish  to  prohibit  such  importation,  they  may  do  so. 
Our  next  assembly  may  put  an  entire  end  to  the  importation 
of  slaves. 

Article  4.  The  first  section  and  two  first  clauses  of  the 
second  section  read  without  observation.  The  last  clause 
read. 

Mr.  Iredell  begged  leave  to  explain  the  reason  of  this 
clause.  In  some  of  the  Northern  States  they  have  emanci- 
pated all  their  slaves.  If  any  of  our  slaves,  said  he,  go 
there,  and  remain  there  a certain  time,  they  would,  by  the 
present  laws,  be  entitled  to  their  freedom,  so  that  their  mas- 
ters could  not  get  them  again.  This  would  be  extremely 
prejudicial  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Southern  States ; and 
to  prevent  it,  this  clause  is  inserted  in  the  Constitution. 
Though  the  word  slave  is  not  mentioned,  this  is  the  mean- 
ing of  it. 

The  Northern  delegates,  owing  to  their  particular  scru- 
ples on  the  subject  of  slavery,  did  not  choose  the  word 
slave  to  be  mentioned. 

Mr.  Iredell,  upon  Art.  5th,  said — Mr.  Chairman  : This 
is  a very  important  clause.  In  every  other  constitution  of 


148 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


government  tliat  I have  ever  heard  or  read  of,  no  provision 
is  made  for  necessary  amendments. 

The  misfortune  attending  most  constitutions  which  have 
been  deliberately  formed,  has  been,  that  those  who  formed 
them  thought  their  wisdom  equal  to  all  possible  contingen- 
cies, and  that  there  could  be  no  error  in  what  they  did. 

The  gentlemen  who  framed  this  Constitution  thought 
with  much  more  diffidence  of  their  capacities ; and,  un- 
doubtedly, without  a provision  for  amendment,  it  would 
have  been  justly  liable  to  objection,  and  the  characters  of 
its  framers  would  have  appeared  much  less  meritorious. 

This,  indeed,  is  one  of  the  greatest  beauties  of  the  sys- 
tem, ard  should  strongly  recommend  it  to  every  candid 
mind. 

The  constitution  of  any  government  which  cannot  be  re- 
gularly amended  when  its  defects  are  experienced,  reduces 
the  people  to  this  dilemma — they  must  either  submit  to  its 
oppressions,  or  bring  about  amendments,  more  or  less,  by  a 
civil  war.  Happy  this,  the  country  we  live  in ! 

The  Constitution  before  us,  if  it  be  adopted,  can  be 
altered  with  as  much  regularity,  and  as  little  confusion,  as 
any  act  of  Assembly;  not,  indeed,  quite  so  easily,  which 
would  be  extremely  impolitic  ; but  it  is  a most  happy  cir- 
cumstance, that  there  is  a remedy  in  the  system  itself  for  its 
own  fallibility,  so  that  alterations  can  without  difficulty  be 
made,  agreeable  to  the  general  sense  of  the  people.  Let 
us  attend  to  the  manner  in  which  amendments  may  be 
made.  The  proposition  for  amendments  may  arise  from 
Congress  itself,  when  two-thirds  of  both  Houses  shall  deem 
it  necessary. 

If  they  should  not,  and  yet  amendments  be  generally 
wished  for  by  the  people,  two-thirds  of  the  legislatures  of 
the  different  States  may  require  a general  convention  for 
the  purpose,  in  which  case  Congress  are  under  the  necessity 
of  convening  one 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


149 


Any  amendments  which  either  Congress  shall  propose, 
or  wThich  shall  be  proposed  by  such  general  convention, 
are  afterwards  to  be  submitted  to  the  legislatures  of  the 
different  States,  or  conventions  called  for  that  purpose,  as 
Congress  shall  think  proper,  and  upon  the  ratification  of 
three-fourths  of  the  States,  will  become  a part  of  the  Con- 
stitution. By  referring  this  business  to  legislatures,  ex- 
pense would  be  saved  ; and  in  general,  it  may  be  presumed, 
they  would  speak  the  genuine  sense  of  the  people.  It  may, 
however,  on  some  occasions,  be  better  to  consult  an  imme- 
diate delegation  for  that  special  purpose.  This  is  therefore 
left  discretionary.  It  is  highly  probable  that  amendments 
agreed  to  in  either  of  these  methods  would  be  conducive  to 
the  public  welfare,  when  so  large  a majority  of  the  States 
consented  to  them. 

And  in  one  of  these  modes,  amendments  that  are  now 
wished  for  may,  in  a short  time,  be  made  to  this  Consti- 
tution by  the  States  adopting  it. 

It  is,  however,  to  be  observed,  that  the  1st  and  4th 
clauses  in  the  9 tli  section  of  the  1st  article  are  protected 
from  any  alteration  till  the  year  1808;  and  in  order  that 
no  consolidation  should  take  place,  it  is  provided  that  no 
State  shall,  by  any  amendment  or  alteration,  be  ever  de- 
prived of  an  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate  without  its  own 
consent. 

The  first  twm  prohibitions  are  with  respect  to  the  census, 
(according  to  which  direct  taxes  are  imposed,)  and  with 
respect  to  the  importation  of  slaves.  As  to  the  first,  it 
must  be  observed,  that  there  is  a material  difference  be- 
tween the  Northern  and  Southern  States.  The  Northern 
States  have  been  much  longer  settled,  and  are  much  fuller 
of  people,  than  the  Southern,  but  have  not  land  in  equal 
proportion,  nor  scarcely  any  slaves.  The  subject  of  this 
article  wTas  regulated  with  great  difficulty,  and  by  a spirit 


150 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS.  ' 


of  concession  which  it  wrould  not  be  prudent  to  disturb  for 
a good  many  years. 

In  twenty  years,  there  will  probably  be  a great  alteration, 
and  then  the  subject  may  be  reconsidered  with  less  difficulty 
and  greater  coolness. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  compromise  wras  upon  the  best 
footing  that  could  be  obtained.  A compromise  likewise 
took  place  in  regard  to  the  importation  of  slaves.  It  is 
probable  that  all  the  members  reprobated  this  inhuman 
traffic ; but  those  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  would  not 
consent  to  an  immediate  prohibition  of  it — one  reason  of 
which  was,  that,  during  the  last  war,  they  lost  a vast  num- 
ber of  negroes,  which  loss  they  wash  to  supply. 

In  the  mean  time,  it  is  left  to  the  States  to  admit  or  pro- 
hibit the  importation,  and  Congress  may  imoose  a limited 
duty  upon  it. 

EXTRACTS  PROM  THE  DEBATES,  IN  THE  CONVEN- 
TION OP  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

January  16,  1188.  Hon.  Rawlins  Lowndes.  It  has 
been  said  that  this  new  government  was  to  be  considered  as 
an  experiment.  He  really  was  afraid  it  w'ould  prove  a fatal 
one  to  our  peace  and  happiness.  An  experiment! 

What ! risk  the  loss  of  political  existence  on  experiments  ? 
No,  sir;  if  wTe  are  to  make  experiments,  rather  let  them  be 
such  as  may  do  good,  but  which  cannot  possibly  do  any  in- 
jury to  us  or  our  posterity. 

So  far  from  having  any  expectation  of  success  from  such 
experiments,  he  sincerely  believed  that,  when  this  new  Con- 
stitution should  be  adopted,  the  sun  of  the  Southern  States 
would  set,  never  to  rise  again. 

To  prove  this,  he  observed,  that  six  of  the  Eastern  States 
formed  a majority  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  In  the 
enumeration  he  passed  Rhode  Island,  and  included  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Now,  was  it  consonant  ,vilh  reason,  with  wisdom,  with 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


151 


policy,  to  suppose,  in  a legislature  where  a majority  of 
persons  sat  whose  interests  were  greatly  different  from  ours, 
that  we  had  the  smallest  chance  of  receiving  adequate  ad- 
vantages ? Certainly  not.  He  believed  the  gentlemen 
that  went  from  this  State,  to  represent  us  in  Convention, 
possessed  as  much  integrity,  and  stood  as  high  in  point  of 
character,  as  any  gentlemen  that  could  have  been  selected  ; 
aud  he  also  believed  that  they  had  done  everything  in  their 
power  to  procure  for  us  a proportionate  share  in  this  new 
government but  the  very  little  they  had  gained  proved 
what  we  may  expect  in  future — that  the  interest  of  the 
Northern  States  would  so  predominate  as  to  divest  us  of 
auy  pretensions  to  the  title  of  a republic. 

In  the  first  place,  what  cause  was  there  for  jealousy  of 
our  importing  negroes  ? Why  confine  us  to  twenty  years, 
or,  rather,  why  limit  us  at  all  ? For  his  part,  he  thought 
this  trade  could  be  justified  on  the  principles  of  religion, 
humanity,  aud  justice  ; for  certainly  to  translate  a set  of 
human  beiugs  from  a bad  country  to  a better,  was  fulfilling 
every  part  of  these  principles. 

But  they  don’t  like  our  slaves,  because  they  have  none 
themselves  and  therefore  want  to  exclude  us  from  this  great 
advantage.  Why  should  the  Southern  States  allow  of  this, 
without  the  consent  of  nine  States. 

Judge  Pendleton  observed,  that  only  three  States,  Geor- 
gia, South  Carolina,  and  North  Carolina,  allowed  the  im- 
portation of  negroes.  Virginia  had  a clause  in  her  Consti- 
tution for  this  purpose,  and  Maryland,  he  believed,  even 
before  the  war  prohibited  them. 

Mr.  Lowndes  continued,  that  we  had  a law  prohibiting 
the  importation  of  negroes  for  three  years,  a law  he  greatly 
approved  of ; but  there  was  no  reason  offered  why  the 
Southern  States  might  not  find  it  necessary  to  alter  their 
conduct,  and  open  their  ports. 

Without  negroes,  this  State  would  degenerate  into  one 


152 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


of  the  most  contemptible  in  the  Union  ; and  he  cited  an 
expression  that  fell  from  General  Pinckney,  on  a former 
debate,  that  whilst  there  remained  one  acre  of  swamp-land 
in  South  Carolina,  he  should  raise  his  voice  against  restrict- 
ing the  importation  of  negroes.  Even  in  granting  the  im- 
portation for  twenty  years,  care  had  been  taken  to  make  up 
pay  for  this  indulgence,  each  negro  beiug  liable,  on  import 
ation,  to  pay  a duty  not  exceeding  ten  dollars,  and  in  addi 
tion  to  this  they  were  liable  to  a capitation  tax.  Negroes 
were  our  wealth,  our  only  natural  resource  ; yet  behold  how 
our  kind  friends  in  the  North  were  determined  soon  to  tie 
up  our  hands,  and  drain  us  of  what  we  had  1 The  Eastern 
States  drew  their  means  of  subsistence,  in  a great  measure, 
from  their  shipping ; and,  on  that  head,  they  had  been  par- 
ticularly careful  not  to  allow  of  any  burdens ; they  were 
not  to  pay  tonnage  or  duties;  no,  not  even  the  form  of 
clearing  out ; all  ports  were  free  and  open  to  them.  Why 
then  call  this  a reciprocal  bargain,  which  took  all  from  on# 
party  to  bestow  it  on  the  other. 

Hon.  E.  Rutledge.  In  the  Northern  States  the  labor  is 
performed  by  white  people,  in  the  Southern  by  black.  All 
the  free  people  (and  there  are  few  others)  in  the  Northern 
States  are  to  be  taxed  by  the  new  Constitution ; whereas 
only  the  free  people  and  two-fifths  of  the  slaves,  in  the 
Southern  States,  are  to  be  rated  in  the  apportioning  of 
taxes.  But  the  principal  objection  is,  that  no  duties  are 
laid  on  shipping;  that,  in  fact,  the  carrying  trade  was  to 
be  vested,  in  a great  measure,  in  the  Americans  ; that  the 
ship-building  business  was  principally  carried  on  in  the 
Northern  States. 

When  this  subject  is  duly  considered,  the  Southern  States 
should  be  the  last  to  object  to  it. 

Gen.  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney  said  he  would  make 
a few  observation  on  the  objections  which  the  gentleman 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS. 


153 


had  thrown  out  on  the  restriction  that  might  be  laid  on  the 
African  trade  after  the  year  1808. 

On  this  point  your  delegates  had  to  contend  with  the 
religious  and  political  prejudices  of  the  Eastern  and  Middle 
States,,  and  with  the  interested  and  inconsistent  opinion  of 
Virginia,  who  was  warmly  opposed  to  our  importing  more 
slaves. 

I am  of  the  same  opinion  now  as  I was  two  years  ago, 
when  I used  the  expressions  the  gentleman  has  quoted — 
that  while  there  remained  one  acre  of  swamp-land  uncleared 
in  South  Carolina,  I would  raise  my  voice  against  restrict 
iug  the  importation  of  negroes. 

I am  as  thoroughly  convinced  as  that  gentleman  is,  that 
the  nature  of  our  climate,  and  the  flat,  swampy  situation 
of  our  country,  obliges  us  to  cultivate  our  lands  with 
negroes,  and  that  without  them  South  Carolina  would  soon 
be  a desert  waste. 

You  have  so  frequently  heard  my  sentiments  on  this  sub- 
ject, that  I need  not  now  repeat  them.  It  was  alleged,  by 
some  of  the  members  who  opposed  an  unlimited  importa- 
tion, that  slaves  increased  the  weakness  of  any  State  who 
admitted  them  ; that  they  were  a dangerous  species  of 
property,  which  an  invading  enemy  could  easily  turn  against 
ourselves  and  the  neighboring  States  ; and  that,  as  we  were 
allowed  a representation  for  them  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, our  influence  in  government  would  be  increased 
in  proportion  as  we  were  less  able  to  defend  ourselves. 

“ Show  some  period,”  said  the  members  from  the  Eastern 
States,  “ when  it  may  be  in  our  power  to  put  a stop,  if  we 
please,  to  the  importation  of  this  weakness,  and  we  will 
endeavor,  for  your  convenience,  to  restrain  the  religious 
and  political  prejudices  of  our  people  on  this  subject.” 

The  Middle  States  and  Virginia  made  us  no  such  propo- 
sition ; they  were  for  an  immediate  and  total  prohibition. 

We  endeavored  to  obviate  the  objections  that  were  made 


154 


THE  STATE  CONVENTIONS, 


in  the  best  manner  we  could,  and  assigned  reasons  for  our 
insisting  on  the  importation,  which  there  is  no  occasion  to 
repeat,  as  they  must  occur  to  every  gentleman  in  the  house  ; 
a committee  of  the  States  was  appointed,  in  order  to  accom- 
modate this  matter,  and,  after  a great  deal  of  difficulty,  it 
was  settled  on  the  footing  recited  in  the  Constitution. 

By  this  settlement  we  have  secured  an  unlimited  importa- 
tion of  negroes  for  twenty  years.  Nor  is  it  declared  that 
the  importation  shall  then  be  stopped  ; it  may  be  continued. 

We  have  a security  that  the  general  government  can 
never  emancipate  them,  for  no  such  authority  is  granted  ; 
and  it  is  admitted,  on  all  hands,  that  the  general  govern- 
ment has  no  powers  but  what  are  expressly  granted  by  the 
Constitution,  and  that  all  rights  not  expressed  were  reserved 
by  the  several  States. 

We  have  obtained  a right  to  recover  our  slaves,  in  what- 
ever part  of  America  they  may  take  refuge,  which  is  a right 
we  had  not  before. 

In  short,  considering  all  circumstances,  we  have  made 
the  best  terms  for  the  security  of  this  species  of  property 
it  was  in  our  power  to  make. 

We  would  have  made  better  if  we  could ; but  on  the 
whole,  I do  not  think  them  bad. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  ORDINANCE  OP  17S7. 

The  following  authentic  history  of  the  Ordinance  of 
1787  was  prepared  for  the  National  Intelligencer  in  1847. 
The  author  has  kindly  permitted  us  to  use  it  in  this  volume. 
It  is  unquestionably  the  only  perfect  history  of  that  Ordi- 
nance ever  given  to  the  American  people.  We  copy  it 
with  the  remarks  of  that  journal. 

“A  discussion  having  arisen  in  the  public  prints  as  to 
the  authorship  of  certain  important  provisions  embraced  iu 
the  Ordinance  of  1787  for  the  government  of  the  Western 
Territory,  now  constituting  several  States  of  the  Union, 
and  especially  in  regard  to  that  celebrated  provision  which 
forever  excluded  slavery  from  that  vast  and  fertile  region  ; 
our  fellow-townsman,  Peter  Force,  Esq.,  has  prepared 
from  authentic  materials  the  article  which  appears  on  the 
preceding  page.  From  this  careful  exposition,  it  seems 
clear  that  Mr.  Webster  was  right  when,  in  his  celebrated 
speech  on  Foote’s  resolution,  he  ascribed  the  authorship 
(if  not  the  original  conception)  of  the  clause  above  speci- 
fied to  Nathan  Dane,  of  Massachusetts. 

“It  happens  that,  in  seeking  among  the  archives  of  all 
the  old  States,  and  among  numerous  private  collections,  for 
materials  for  his  voluminous  work,  ‘American  Archives,’ 
Mr.  Force  became  possessed  of  the  original  projects  and 
reports  submitted  to  Congress  respecting  a plan  of  govern- 
ment for  the  Northwestern  Territory,  from  this  step  in 
1784  to  1787,  when  the  Ordinance  was  finally  adopted. 
He  has  the  copy  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  with  all  its 

055) 


156 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


alterations  marked  on  it,  while  under  consideration,  just  as 
i!  was  amended  at  the  President’s  table,  among  which  the 
clause  respecting  slavery  remains  attached  to  it  as  an 
amendment  in  Mr.  Dane’s  hand-writing,  in  the  exact  words 
in  which  it  now  stands  in  the  Ordinance.  From  these 
materials,  together  with  the  official  journals  of  the  body, 
Mr.  Force  has  compiled  the  narrative  which  we  now  insert ; 
and,  his  materials  being  thus  authentic,  we  must  receive  it 
as  settling  the  question.  He  has  taken  this  trouble  for  the 
sake  of  historic  truth,  and  the  same  motive,  together  with 
the  intrinsic  interest  of  the  subject,  and  the  further  reason 
that  we  have  given  currency  to  versions  of  the  transaction 
which  do  injustice  to  the  dead,  have  induced  us  cheerfully 
to  yield  to  it  the  large  share  of  our  space  which  it  occupies.” 

NOTES  ON  THE  ORDINANCE  OP  1787. 

In  the  history  of  the  Ordinance  of  1187,  published  in  the 
National  Intelligencer  on  the  6th  of  the  present  month, 
there  are  several  errors,  which,  before  they  become  “ fixed 
facts”  should  be  corrected.  These  notes  furnish  material 
for  the  correction  of  some  of  them. 

On  the  1st  of  March  1184,  a committee,  consisting  of 
Mr.  Jefferson,  of  Virginia,  Mr.  Chase,  of  Maryland,  and 
Mr.  Howell,  of  Rhode  Island,  submitted  to  Congress  the 
following  plan  for  the  temporary  government  of  the  Western 
Territory  : 

The  committee  appointed  to  prepare  a plan  for  the  tem- 
porary government  of  the  Western  Territory  have  agreed  to 
the  following  resolutions, — 

Resolved,  That  the  Territory  ceded  or  to  be  ceded  by 
individual  States  to  the  United  States,  whensoever  the  . 
same  shall  have  been  purchased  of  the  Indian  inhabitants 
and  offered  for  sale  by  the  United  States,  shall  be  formed 
into  additional  States,  bounded  in  the  following  manner,  as 
nearly  as  such  cessions  will  admit ; that  is  to  say  North- 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


157 


wardly  and  Southwardly  by  parallels  of  latitude,  so  that 
each  State  shall  comprehend,  from  South  to  North,  two  de- 
grees of  latitude,  beginning  to  count  from  the  completion 
of  thirty-one  degrees  north  of  the  equator  : but  any  terri- 
tory northwardly  of  the  4tth  degree  shall  make  part  of  the 
State  next  below.  And  eastwardly  and  westwardly  they 
shall  be  bounded,  those  on  the  Mississippi,  by  that  river  on 
one  side  and  the  meridian  of  the  lowest  point  of  the  rapids 
of  the  Ohio  on  the  other;  and  those  adjoining  on  the  east, 
by  the  same  meridian  on  their  western  side,  and  on  their 
eastern  by  the  meridian  of  the  western  cape  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Great  Kanawha.  And  the  territory  eastward  of  this 
last  meridian,  between  the  Ohio,  Lake  Erie  and  Pennsyl- 
vania shall  be  one  State. 

That  the  settlers  within  the  territory  so  to  be  purchased 
and  offered  for  sale,  shall,  either  on  their  own  petition,  or 
the  order  of  Congress,  receive  authority  from  them,  with  ap- 
pointments of  time  and  place,  for  their  free  males,  of  full 
age,  to  meet  together,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a 
temporary  government,  to  adopt  the  constitution  and  laws 
of  any  one  of  these  States,  so  that  such  laws  nevertheless 
shall  be  subject  to  alteration  by  their  ordinary  legislature, 
and  to  erect,  subject  to  a like  alteration,  counties  or  town- 
ships for  the  election  of  members  for  their  legislature. 

That  such  temporary  government  shall  only  continue  in 
force  in  any  State  until  it  shall  have  acquired  20,000  free 
inhabitants,  when,  giving  due  proof  thereof  to  Congress',  they 
shall  receive  from  them  authority,  with  appointments  of  time 
and  place,  to  call  a convention  of  representatives  to  establish  a 
permanent  constitution  and  government  for  themselves. 

Provided,  That  both  the  temporary  and  permanent 
government  be  established  on  these  principles  as  their 
basis  : 

1.  That  they  shall  forever  remain  a part  of  the  United 
States  of  America 


158 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


2.  That  in  their  persons,  property,  and  territory  they 
shall  be  subject  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  in 
Congress  assembled,  and  to  the  Articles  of  Confederation  in 
all  those  cases  in  which  the  original  States  shall  be  so 
subject. 

3.  That  they  shall  be  subject  to  pay  a part  of  the  federal 
debts  contracted  or  to  be  contracted,  to  be  apportioned  on 
them  by  Congress  according  to  the  same  common  rule  and 
measure  by  which  apportionments  thereof  shall  be  made  on 
other  States. 

4.  That  their  respective  governments  shall  be  in  republi- 
can forms,  and  shall  admit  no  person  to  be  a citizen  who 
holds  any  hereditary  title. 

5.  That  after  the  year  1800  of  the  Christian  era  there 
shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  in  any  of 
the  said  States  otherwise  than  in  punishment  of  crimes, 
whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted  to  have 
been  personally  guilty. 

That  whensoever  any  of  the  said  States  shall  have  of  free 
inhabitants  as  many  as  shall  then  be  in  any  one  of  the  least 
numerous  of  the  thirteen  original  States,  such  State  shall 
be  admitted  by  its  delegates  into  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  said  original  States, 
after  which  the  assent  of  two-thirds  of  the  United  States,  iu 
Congress  assembled,  shall  be  requisite  in  all  those  cases 
wherein,  by  the  confederation,  the  assent  of  nine  States  is 
now  required  ; provided  the  consent  of  nine  States  to  such 
admission  may  be  obtained  according  to  the  11th  of  the 
Articles  of  Confederation.  Until  such  admission  by  their 
delegates  into  Congress,  any  of  the  said  States,  after  the 
establishment  of  their  temporary  government,  shall  have 
authority  to  keep  a sitting  member  in  Congress,  with  a 
right  of  debating,  but  not  voting. 

That  the  territory  northward  of  the  45th  degree,  that  is 
to  say,  of  the  completion  of  45  degrees  from  the  equator, 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1737. 


159 


and  extending  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  shall  be  called 
Sylvania  ; that  of  the  territory  under  the  45th  and  44th  de- 
grees, that  which  lies  westward  of  Lake  Michigan  shall  be 
called  Michigania  ; and  that  which  is  eastward  thereof, 
within  the  peninsula  formed  by  the  Lakes  and  waters  of 
Michigan,  Huron,  St.  Clair,  and  Erie  shall  be  called  Cher- 
ronesus,  and  shall  include  any  part  of  the  peninsula  which 
may  extend  above  the  45th  degree.  Of  the  territory  under 
the  43d  and  45th  degrees,  that  to  the  westward,  through 
wdiich  the  Assenippi  or  Rock  river  runs,  shall  be  called 
Assenisipia ; and  that  to  the  eastward,  in  which  are  the 
the  fountains  of  the  Muskingum,  the  two  Miamies  of  Ohio, 
the  Wabash,  the  Illinois,  the  Miami  of  the  Lake,  and  the 
Sandusky  rivers,  shall  be  called  Mesopotamia.  Of  the  ter- 
ritory which  lies  under  the  39th  and  38th  degrees,  to  which 
shall  be  added  so  much  of  the  point  of  land  within  the  fork 
of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  as  lies  under  the  37th  degree, 
that  to  the  westward  within  and  adjacent  to  which  are  the 
confluences  of  the  rivers  Wabash,  Shawnee,  Tamsee,  Ohio, 
Illinois,  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  shall  be  called  Polypo- 
tamia ; and  that  to  the  eastward  farther  up  the  Ohio,  shall 
be  called  Polisipia. 

This  report  was  recommitted  to  the  same  committee  on 
the  17th  of  March  and  a new  one  was  submitted  on  the  22d 
of  the  same  month.  The  second  report  agreed  in  sub- 
stance with  the  first.  The  principal  difference  was  the 
omission  of  the  paragraph  giving  names  to  the  States  to  be 
formed  out  of  the  Western  Territory.  It  was  taken  up  for 
consideration  by  Congress  on  the  19th  of  April,  on  which 
day,  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Spaight,  of  North  Carolina,  the 
following  clause  was  struck  out: 

That  after  the  year  1800  of  the  Christian  era  there  shall 
be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  in  any  of  the 
said  States,  otherwise  than  in  the  punishment  of  crimes 
whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted  to  have 
been  personally  guilty. 


160 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


The  report  was  further  considered  and  amended  on  the 
20th  and  21st.  On  the  23d  it  was  agreed  to  (ten  States 
voting  Aye,  and  one  No),  without  the  clause  prohibiting 
slavery  and  involuntary  servitude  after  the  year  1800.  On 
the  question  to  agree  to  the  report,  after  the  prohibitory 
clause  was  struck  out,  the  yeas  and  nays  were  required  by 
Mr.  Beresford.  The  vote  was  : 

Ayes — New  Hampshire,  Mr.  Poster,  Mr.  Blanchard ; 
Massachusetts,  Mr.  Gerry,  Mr.  Partridge ; Rhode  Island, 
Mr.  Ellery,  Mr.  Howell ; Connecticut,  Mr.  Sherman,  Mr. 
Wadsworth;  New  York,  Mr.  Dewitt,  Mr.  Payne;  New 
Jersey,  Mr.  Beatty,  Mr.  Dick  ; Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Mifflin, 
Mr.  Montgomery,  Mr.  Hand  ; Maryland,  Mr.  Stone,  Mr. 
Chase;  Virginia,  Mr.  Jefferson,  Mr.  Mercer,  Mr.  Monroe; 
North  Carolina,  Mr.  Williamson,  Mr.  Spaight. 

Nays — South  Carolina,  Mr.  Read,  Mr.  Beresford. 

Absent — Delaware,  Georgia. 

Thus  the  report  of  Mr.  Jefferson  for  the  temporary  gov- 
ernment of  the  Western  Territory,  without  any  restriction 
as  to  slavery,  received  the  vote  of  every  State  present  ex- 
cept South  Carolina.  It  did  not  lie  on  the  table  of  Con- 
gress during  the  three  years  from  1784  to  1787.  During 
these  three  years  it  was  the  law  of  the  land.  It  was  re- 
pealed in  1787. 

Nearly  a year  after  the  first  plan  was  adopted,  the  clause 
originally  offered  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  as  a part  of  the  charter 
of  compact  and  fundamental  constitutions  between  the 
thirteen  original  States  and  the  new  States  to  be  formed 
in  the  Western  Territory  prohibiting  slavery  and  invol- 
untary servitude,  was  again  submitted  to  Congress,  omit- 
ting the  time  named,  “ after  the  year  1800  of  the  Christian 
era.” 

On  the  16th  March,  1785 — “A  motion  was  made  by  Mr. 
King,  seconded  by  Mr.  Ellery,  that  the  following  proposi- 
tion be  committed  : 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


161 


“That  there  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary 
servitude  iu  any  of  the  States  described  in  the  resolve  of 
Congress  of  the  23d  of  April,  1784,  otherwise  than  in  the 
punishment  of  crimes,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been 
personally  guilty;  and  that  this  regulation  shall  be  an 
article  of  compact,  and  remain  a fundamental  principle  of 
the  constitutions  between  the  thirteen  original  States,  and 
each  of  the  States  described  in  the  said  resolve  of  the  23d 
of  April,  1784.” 

The  motion  was,  “that  the  following  proposition  be 
committed” — that  is,  committed  to  a committee  of  the 
whole  House  : it  was  not  “in  the  nature  of  an  instruction 
to  the  Committee  on  the  Western  Territory.”  At  that 
time  there  was  no  such  committee.  It  was  a separate,  in- 
dependent proposition.  The  very  terms  of  it  show  that  it 
was  offered  as  an  addition  to  the  resolve  of  April  23d, 
1784,  with  the  intention  of  restoring  to  that  resolve  a clause 
that  had  originally  formed  part  of  it. 

Mr.  King’s  motion  to  commit  was  agreed  to ; eight 
States  (New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island, 
Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Maryland)  voted  in  the  affirmative,  and  three  States  (Vir- 
ginia, North  Carolina,  and  South  Carolina)  in  the  negative. 
Neither  Delaware  nor  Georgia  was  represented. 

After  the  commitment  of  this  proposition,  it  was  neither 
called  up  in  Congress  nor  noticed  by  any  of  the  committees 
who  subsequently  reported  plans  for  the  government  of  the 
Western  Territory. 

The  subject  was  not  laid  over  from  this  time  till  Sep- 
tember, 1786.  It  is  noticed  as  being  before  Congress  on 
the  24th  of  March,  the  10th  of  May,  the  13th  of  July,  and 
the  24th  of  August,  of  that  year. 

On  the  24th  of  March,  1786,  a report  was  made  by  the 
grand  committee  of  the  House,  to  whom  had  been  referred 
11 


162 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


a motion  of  Mr.  Monroe  upon  the  subject  of  the  Western 
Territory. 

On  the  10th  of  May,  1786,  a report  was  made  by  another 
committee,  consisting  of  Mr.  Monroe  of  Virginia,  Mr. 
Johnson  of  Connecticut,  Mr.  King  of  Massachusetts,  Mr. 
Kean  of  South  Carolina,  and  Mr.  Pinckney  of  South  Caro- 
lina, to  whom  a motion  of  Mr.  Dane,  for  considering  and 
reporting  the  form  of  a temporary  government  for  the 
Western  Territory,  was  referred.  This  report,  after 
amendments,  was  recommitted  on  the  13th  of  July  fol- 
lowing. 

On  the  24th  of  August,  1786,  the  Secretary  of  Congress 
was  directed  to  inform  the  inhabitants  of  Kaskaskia  “that 
Congress  have  under  their  consideration  the  plan  of  a tem- 
porary government  for  the  said  district,  and  that  its  adop- 
tion will  be  no  longer  protracted  than  the  importance 
of  the  subject  and  a due  regard  to  their  interest  may 
require.” 

On  the  19th  of  September,  1786,  a committee,  consisting 
of  Mr.  Johnson  of  Connecticut,  Mr.  Pinckney  of  South 
Carolina,  Mr.  Smith  of  New  York,  Mr.  Dane  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  Mr.  Henry  of  Maryland,  appointed  to  prepare 
a “ plan  of  temporary  government  for  such  Districts  or  New 
States  as  shall  be  laid  out  by  the  United  States  upon  the 
principles  of  the  acts  of  cession  from  individual  States,  and 
admitted  into  the  confederacy,”  made  a report,  which  was 
taken  up  for  consideration  on  the  29th,  and,  after  some 
discussion  and  several  motions  to  amend,  the  further  con- 
sideration was  postponed. 

On  the  26th  of  April,  1787,  the  same  committee  (Mr. 
Johnson,  Mr.  Pinckney,  Mr.  Smith,  Mr.  Dane,  and  Mr. 
Henry)  reported  “ An  Ordinance  for  the  government  of 
the  Western  Territory.”  It  was  read  a second  time,  and 
amended  on  the  9th  of  May,  when  the  next  day  was  assigned 
for  the  third  reading.  On  the  10th  the  order  of  the  day 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


163 


for  the  third  reading  was  called  for  by  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  was  postponed.  On  the  9th  and  10th  of  May, 
Massachusetts  was  represented  by  Mr.  Gorham,  Mr.  King, 
and  Mr.  Dane.  The  proposition  which,  on  Mr.  King’s  mo- 
tion, was  “committed”  on  the  16th  of  March  of  the  pre- 
ceding year,  was  not  in  the  Ordinance  as  reported  by  the 
committee,  nor  was  any  motion  made  in  the  Congress  to  in- 
sert it  as  an  amendment. 

The  following  is  a copy  of  the  Ordinance,  as  amended, 
and  ordered  to  a third  reading  : 

AN  ORDINANCE 

For  the  Government  of  the  Western  Territory. 

It  is  hereby  ordained  by  the  United  States,  in  Congress 
assembled,  That  there  shall  be  appointed  from  time  to  time, 
a Governor,  whose  commission  shall  continue  in  force  for 
the  term  of  three  years,  unless  sooner  revoked  by  Congress. 

There  shall  be  appointed  by  Congress  from  time  to  time, 
a secretary,  whose  commission  shall  continue  iu  force  for 
four  years,  unless  sooner  revoked  by  Congress.  It  shall  be 
his  duty  to  keep  and  preserve  the  acts  and  laws  passed  by 
the  General  Assembly,  and  public  records  of  the  district, 
and  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Governor  in  his  executive  de- 
partment, and  transmit  authentic  copies  of  such  acts  and 
proceedings  every  six  months  to  the  Secretary  of  Congress. 

There  shall  also  be  appointed  a court,  to  consist  of  three 
judges,  any  two  of  whom  shall  form  a court,  who  shall  have 
a common  law  jurisdiction,  whose  commissions  shall  continue 
in  force  during  good  behavior. 

And  to  secure  the  rights  of  personal  liberty  and  property 
to  the  inhabitants  and  others,  purchasers  in  the  said  district, 
it  is  hereby  ordained  that  the  inhabitants  of  such  districts 
shall  always  be  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the  act  of  habeas 
corpus,  and  of  the  trial  by  jury. 

The  Governor  and  judges,  or  a majority  of  them,  shall 


164 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


adopt,  and  publish  in  the  district,  such  laws  of  the  original 
States,  criminal  and  civil,  as  may  be  necessary  and  best 
suited  to  the  circumstances  of  the  district,  and  report  them 
to  Congress  from  time  to  time,  which  shall  prevail  in  said 
district  until  the  organization  of  the  General  Assembly,  un- 
less disapproved  of  by  Congress  ; but  afterwards  the  General 
Assembly  shall  have  authority  to  alter  them  as  they  shall  think 
fit,  provided,  however,  that  said  Assembly  shall  have  no 
power  to  create  perpetuities. 

The  Governor  for  the  time  being  shall  be  commander-in- 
chief of  the  militia,  and  appoint  and  commission  all  officers 
in  the  same  below  the  rank  of  general  officer.  All  officers 
of  that  rank  shall  be  appointed  and  commissioned  by  Con- 
gress. 

Previous  to  the  organization  of  the  General' Assembly, 
the  Governor  shall  appoint  such  magistrates  and  other  civil 
officers  in  each  county  or  township,  as  he  shall  find  neces- 
sary for  the  preservation  of  peace  and  good  order  in  the 
same.  After  the  General  Assembly  shall  be  organized,  the 
powers  and  duties  of  magistrates  and  other  civil  officers  shall 
be  regulated  and  defined  by  the  said  Assembly  ; but  all 
luagistrates  and  other  civil  officers  not  herein  otherwise  di- 
rected, shall,  during  the  continuance  of  this  temporary  gov- 
ernment, be  appointed  by  the  Governor. 

The  Governor  shall,  as  soon  as  may  be,  proceed  to  lay 
out  the  district  into  counties  and  townships,  subject,  how- 
ever, to  such  alterations  as  may  thereafter  be  made  by  the 
legislature,  as  soon  as  there  shall  be  five  thousand  free  male 
inhabitants  of  full  age  within  the  said  district.  Upon  giving 
due  proof  thereof  to  the  Governor,  they  shall  receive  authori- 
ty, with  time  and  place  to  elect  representatives  from  their 
counties  or  townships  as  aforesaid,  to  represent  them  in  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  provided  that  for  every  five  hundred  free  male 
inhabitants  there  shall  be  one  representative,  and  so  on  pro- 
gressively with  the  number  of  free  male  inhabitants  shall  the 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1TS7. 


165 


right  of  representation  increase,  until  the  number  of  repre- 
sentatives amount  to  twenty-five  ; after  which  the  number  and 
proportion  of  representatives  shall  be  regulated  by  the  legis- 
lature, provided  that  no  person  shall  be  eligible  or  qualified 
to  act  as  a representative,  unless  he  shall  be  a citizeu  of  one 
of  the  United  States,  or  have  resided  within  the  district  three 
years,  and  shall  likewise  hold,  in  his  own  right  in  fee  simple, 
two  hundred  acres  of  land  within  the  same ; provided  also, 
that  a freehold  or  life  estate  in  fifty  acres  of  land,  in  the  said 
district,  of  a citizen  of  any  of  the  United  States,  and  two 
years’  residence,  if  a foreigner,  in  addition  shall  be  necessary 
to  qualify  a man  as  elector  for  said  representatives. 

The  representatives  thus  elected  shall  serve  for  the  term 
of  two  years  ; and  in  the  case  of  the  death  of  a representa- 
tive or  removal  from  office,  the  Governor  shall  issue  a writ 
to  the  county  or  township  for  which  he  was  a member,  to 
elect  another  in  his  stead,  to  serve  during  the  residue  of  the 
time. 

The  General  Assembly  shall  consist  of  the  Governor,  a 
Legislative  Council — to  consist  of  five  members,  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  to 
continue  in  office  during  pleasure,  any  three  of  whom  to  be 
a quorum — and  a House  of  Representatives,  who  shall  have 
a legislative  authority,  complete  in  all  cases  for  the  good 
government  of  said  district ; provided  that  no  act  of  the  said 
General  Assembly  shall  be  construed  to  affect  any  lands  the 
property  of  the  United  States  ; and  provided  further,  that 
the  lands  of  the  non-resident  proprietors  shall  in  no  instance 
be  taxed  higher  than  the  lands  of  residents. 

All  bills  shall  originate  indifferently  either  in  the  Coun- 
cil or  House  of  Representatives,  and  having  been  passed 
by  a majority  in  both  Houses,  shall  be  referred  to  the 
Governor  for  his  assent,  after  obtaining  which,  they  shall 
be  complete  and  valid ; but  no  bill  or  legislative  act, 


166 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


whatever,  shall  be  valid,  or  of  any  force,  without  his 
assent. 

The  Governor  shall  have  power  to  convene,  prorogue, 
and  dissolve  the  General  Assembly,  when  in  his  opinion  it 
shall  be  expedient. 

The  said  inhabitants  or  settlers  shall  be  subject  to  pay  a 
part  of  the  federal  debts  contracted,  or  to  be  contracted, 
and  to  bear  a proportional  share  of  the  burdens  of  the 
government,  to  be  apportioned  on  them  by  Congress,  ac- 
cording to  the  same  common  rule  and  measure  by  which 
apportionments  thereof  shall  be  made  on  the  other  States. 

The  Governor,  Judges,  Legislative  Council,  Secretary, 
and  such  other  officers  as  Congress  shall  at  any  time 
think  proper  to  appoint  in  such  district,  shall  take  an  oath 
or  affirmation  of  fidelity ; the  Governor  before  the  Presi- 
dent of  Congress,  and  all  other  officers  before  the  Governor, 
prescribed  on  the  27th  day  of  January,  1785,  to  the  Se- 
cretary of  War,  mutatis  mutandis. 

Whensoever  any  of  the  said  States  shall  have  of  free 
inhabitants  as  many  as  are  equal  in  number  to  the  one-thir- 
teenth part  of  the  citizens  of  the  original  States,  to  be 
computed  from  the  last  enumeration,  such  State  shall  be 
admitted  by  its  delegates  into  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  said  original  States, 
provided  the  consent  of  so  many  States  in  Congress  is 
first  obtained  as  may  at  that  time  be  competent  to  such  ad- 
mission. 

Resolved,  That  the  resolutions  of  the  23d  of  April, 
1784,  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby  annulled  and  repealed. 

Such  was  the  Ordinance  for  the  government  of  the  West- 
ern Territory,  when  it  was  ordered  to  a third  reading  on 
the  10th  of  May,  1787.  It  had  then  made  no  furtner  pro- 
gress in  the  development  of  those  great  principles  for  which 
it  has  since  been  distinguished  as  one  of  the  greatest  monu- 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


167 


ments  of  civil  jurisprudence.  It  made  no  provision  for 
the  equal  distribution  of  estates.  It  said  nothing  of  ex- 
tending the  fundamental  principles  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty;  nothing  of  the  rights  of  conscience,  knowledge, 
or  education.  It  did  not  contain  the  articles  of  compact 
which  were  to  remain  unaltered  forever  unless  by  common 
consent. 

We  now  come  to  the  time  when  these  great  principles 
were  first  brought  forward. 

On  the  9th  of  July,  1787,  ordinances  were  again  referred. 
The  committee  now  consisted  of  Mr.  Carrington  of  Vir- 
ginia, Mr.  Dane  of  Massachusetts,  Mr.  R.  H.  Lee  of  Vir- 
ginia, Mr.  Kean  of  South  Carolina,  and  Mr.  Smith  of  New 
York.  Mr.  Carrington,  Mr.  Lee,  and  Mr.  Kean,  the  new 
members,  were  a majority. 

This  Committee  did  not  merely  revise  the  Ordinance,  they 
prepared  and  reported  the  great  Bill  of  Rights  for  the 
territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio. 

The  question  is  here  presented,  why  was  Mr.  Carrington, 
a new  member  of  the  committee,  placed  at  the  head  of  it,  to 
the  exclusion  of  Mr.  Dane  and  Mr.  Smith,  who  had  served 
previously  ? In  the  absence  of  positive  evidence,  there 
appears  to  be  but  one  answer  to  this  question,  the  opinions 
of  all  the  members  were  known  in  Congress.  In  the  course 
of  debate  new  views  had  been  presented  which  must  have 
been  received  with  general  approbation.  A majority  of  the 
committee  were  the  advocates  of  these  view's,  and  the  mem- 
ber by  whom  they  were  presented  to  the  House,  was 
selected  as  the  chairman.  There  is  nothing  improbable  or 
out  of  the  usual  course  in  this.  Indeed  the  prompt  action  of 
the  committee  and  of  the  Congress  goes  far  to  confirm  it. 

On  the  11th  of  July  (two  days  after  the  reference),  Mr. 
Carrington  reported  the  ordinance  for  the  government  of 
the  Territory  of  the  United  States  northwest  of  the  Ohio. 
This  ordinance  was  read  a second  time  on  the  12th,  (and 


168 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


amended  as  stated  below,)  and  on  the  13th  it  was  read  a third 
time,  and  passed  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  eight  States 
present  in  the  Congress. 

On  the  passage  the  Yeas  and  Nays  (being  required  by 
Mr.  Yates,)  were  as  follows  : 

Ayes — Massachusetts,  Mr.  Holten,  Mr.  Dane ; New 
York,  Mr.  Smith,  Mr.  Harney,  Mr.  Yates;  New  Jersey, 
Mr.  Clark,  Mr.  Schureman ; Delaware;  Mr.  Kearney;  Mr. 
Mitchell  ; Virginia,  Mr.  Grayson,  Mr.  R.  H.  Lee,  Mr. 
Carrington  ; North  Carolina,  Mr.  Blount,  Mr.  Hawkins  : 
South  Carolina,  Mr.  Kean,  Mr.  Huger;  Georgia,  Mr.  Pew, 
Mr.  Pierce. 

Nays — None. 

Absent — New  Hampshire,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut, 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland. 

It  appears  then  that,  instead  of  having  “this  ordinance 
under  deliberation  and  revision  for  three  years  and  six 
months,”  in  five  days  it  was  passed  through  all  the  forms 
of  legislation — the  reference,  the  action  of  the  committee, 
the  report,  the  three  several  readings,  the  discussion  and 
amendment  by  Congress,  and  the  final  passage. 

On  the  12th  of  July  (as  above  stated),  Mr.  Dane  offered 
the  following  amendment,  which  was  adopted  as  the  sixth 
of  the  articles  of  the  compact : 

“ Article  the  sixth.  There  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor 
involuntary  servitude  in  the  said  territory,  otherwise  than 
in  the  punishment  of  crimes  whereof  the  party  shall  have 
been  duly  convicted.  Provided  always,  That  any  person 
escaping  into  the  same,  from  whom  labor  or  service  is 
claimed  in  any  of  the  original  States,  such  fugitive  may 
be  lawfully  reclaimed  and  conveyed  to  the  person  claiming 
his  or  her  labor  or  service  as  aforesaid.” 

This  had  in  part  been  presented  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  in 
1784,  and  again  by  Mr.  King,  in  1785.  The  assertion 
that  this  clause,  “ as  it  now  exists  in  the  ordinance,”  was 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


169 


"proposed  and  carried  by  Mr.  King,  when  neither  Jefferson 
nor  Dane  was  present,”  is  singularly  incorrect.  In  the 
proposition  submitted  by  Mr.  King  in  1785  (which  was 
never  afterwards  called  up  in  Congress)  there  was  no  pro- 
vision for  reclaiming  fugitives;  and  without  such  a pro- 
vision it  could  not  have  been  carried  at  all : besides,  the 
clause,  “as  it  now  exists  in  the  ordinance,”  was  proposed 
by  Mr.  Dane  on  the  12th  of  July,  1787,  and  carried  by 
the  unanimous  vote  of  Congress  when  Mr.  King  was  not 
present. 

Mr.  King  was  a member  of  the  Convention  fbr  framing 
the  federal  Constitution.  He  was  present  and  voted  in  the 
Convention  on  the  12th  of  July,  1787.  The  whole  of  that 
day  was  occupied  in  settling  the  proportion  of  representa- 
tion and  direct  taxation,  which  was  then  determined  as  it 
now  stands  in  the  Constitution,  viz.,  “by  adding  to  the 
whole  number  of  free  persons,  including  those  bound  to  ser- 
vice for  a term  of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed, 
three-fifths  of  all  other  persons. 

The  Congress  and  the  Convention  were  both  in  session  at 
the  same  time  in  Philadelphia;  there  was  of  course  free  in- 
tercourse and  interchange  of  opinion  between  the  members 
of  the  two  bodies.  To  this  may  be  attributed  the  adoption 
on  the  same  day,  of  the  clause  in  the  Ordinance  and  the 
clause  in  the  Constitution.* 

The  accompanying  copy  of  the  Ordinance  shows  the 

* An  additional  reason  for  the  agreement  of  the  Southern 
States  to  this  restriction  of  slavery,  may  he  found  in  the  fact 
that  the  institution  would  not  he  likely  to  flourish  to  any  con- 
siderable extent  in  that  climate.  They  therefore  gave  up  little 
and  gained  what  was  far  more  important  to  them,  a recognition, 
in  the  article  itself,  of  their  right  to  capture  their  fugitive 
slaves  in  that  territory — a right  they  had  not  before  possessed. 
This  all  occurred  prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  present  Constitu- 
tion, and  seems  to  have  been  a compromise  of  sectional  in- 
terests. 


170 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


amendments  made  in  Congress,  on  the  12th  of  July  to  Mr. 
Carrington’s  report  of  the  11th.  All  that  was  struck  out 
is  printed  in  italic,  what  was  inserted  is  in  small  capitals. 
The  reader,  on  comparing  this  with  the  plans  previously 
reported  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  by  Mr.  Johnson,  will  see 
that  most  of  the  principles  on  which  its  wisdom  and  fame 
rest,  were  first  presented  by  Mr.  Carrington. 

Washington,  August  20th,  1847.  P.  F. 

AN  ORDINANCE 

For  the  Government  of  the  Territory  of  the  United  States 
Northwest  of  the  river  Ohio. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, That  the  said  Territory,  for  the  purposes  of  tempo- 
rary government,  be  one  district ; subject,  however  to  be 
divided  into  two  districts,  as  circumstances  may  in  the 
opinion  of  Congress  make  it  expedient. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  the  estates 
both  of  resident  and  non-resideut  proprietors  in  the  said 
territory  dying  intestate,  shall  descend  to  and  be  distributed 
among  their  children  and  the  descendants  of  a deceased 
child  in  equal  parts  ; the  descendants  of  a deceased  child  or 
grandchild  to  take  the  share  of  their  deceased  parent  in 
equal  parts  among  them  ; and  where  there  shall  be  no  chil- 
dren or  descendants,  then  in  equal  parts  to  the  next  of  kin 
in  equal  degree  ; and  among  collaterals,  the  children  of  a 
deceased  brother  or  sister  of  the  intestate  shall  have  in 
equal  parts  among  them  their  deceased  parents’  share  ; and 
THERE  SHALL  IN  NO  CASE  BE  A DISTINCTION  BETWEEN  KIN- 
DRED OP  the  whole  AND  half  blood  ; saving  in  all  cases  to 
the  widow  of  the  intestate  her  third  part  of  the  real  estate 
for  life,  and  [ where  there  shall  be  no  children  of  the  in- 
testate] one-third  part  of  the  personal  estate  ; and  this  law 
relative  to  descent  and  dower  shall  remain  in  full  force  until 
altered  by  the  legislature  of  the  district.  And  until  the 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


171 


Governor  and  Judges  shall  adopt  laws  as  hereinafter  men* 
tioned,  estates  in  the  said  territory  may  be  devised  or  be- 
queathed by  wills  in  writing,  signed  and  sealed  by  him  or 
her,  in  whom  the  estate  may  be  (being  of  full  age)  and  at- 
tested by  three  witnesses  ; and  real  estates  may  be  conveyed 
by  lease  and  release,  or  bargain  and  sale,  signed  sealed  and 
delivered  by  the  person,  being  of  full  age,  in  whom  the 
estate  may  be,  and  attested  by  two  witnesses,  provided  such 
wills  be  duly  proved,  and  such  conveyances  be  acknow- 
ledged, or  the  execution  thereof  duly  proved,  and  be 
recorded  within  one  year  after  proper  magistrates,  courts, 
and  registers  shall  be  appointed  for  that  purpose  ; and  per- 
sonal property  may  be  transferred  by  delivery,  saving,  how- 
ever, to  the  [ inhabitants  of  Kaslcaskies  and  Post  Vincent ,] 
French  and  Canadian  inhabitants,  and  other  settlers 

OF  THE  KaSKASKIES,  SAINT  YiNOENT’s,  AND  THE  NEIGH- 
BORING VILLAGES,  WHO  HAVE  HERETOFORE  PROFESSED  THEM- 
SELVES citizens  of  Virginia,  their  laws  and  customs  now 
in  force  among  them  relative  to  the  descent  and  conveyance 
of  property. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  there 
shall  be  appointed  from  time  to  time  by  Congress,  a 
Governor,  whose  commission  shall  continue  in  force  for  the 
term  of  three  years  unless  sooner  revoked  by  Congress  ; he 
shall  reside  in  the  district,  and  have  a freehold  estate  therein, 
in  one  thousand  acres  of  land,  while  in  the  exercise  of  his 
office. 

There  shall  be  appointed  from  time  to  time,  by  Congress, 
a Secretary,  whose  commission  shall  continue  in  force  for 
four  years  unless  sooner  revoked;  he  shall  reside  in  the 
district,  and  have  a freehold  estate  therein,  in  five  hundred 
acres  of  land,  while  in  the  exercise  of  his  office.  It  shall  be 
his  duty  to  keep  and  preserve  the  acts  and  laws  passed  by 
the  legislature,  and  the  public  records  of  the  district,  and 
the  proceedings  of  the  Governor  in  his  executive  depart- 


172 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


ment,  and  transmit  authentic  copies  of  such  acts  and  pro- 
ceedings every  six  months  to  the  Secretary  of  Congress. 
There  shall  also  be  appointed  a court  to  consist  of  three 
judges,  any  two  of  whom  to  form  a court,  who  shall  have 
a common-law  jurisdiction,  and  reside  in  the  district,  and 
have  each  therein  a freehold  estate,  in  five  hundred  acres  of 
land  while  in  the  exercise  of  their  offices ; and  their  com 
missions  shall  continue  in  force  during  good  behavor. 

The  Governor  and  Judges,  or  a majority  of  them,  shall 
adopt  and  publish  in  the  district  such  laws  of  the  original 
States,  criminal  and  civil,  as  may  be  necessary  and  best 
suited  to  the  circumstances  of  the  district,  and  report  them 
to  Congress  from  time  to  time,  which  laws  shall  be  in  force 
in  the  district  until  the  organization  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly therein,  unless  disapproved  of  by  Congress;  but  after- 
wards the  legislature  shall  have  authority  to  alter  them  as 
they  shall  see  fit. 

The  Governor  for  the  time  being,  shall  be  commander  in 
chief  of  the  militia,  appoint  and  commission  all  officers  in 
the  same  below  the  rank  of  general  officers  ; all  general 
officers  [ above  that  rank~\  shall  be  appointed  and  commis- 
sioned by  Congress. 

Previous  to  the  organization  of  the  General  Assembly, 
the  Governor  shall  appoint  such  magistrates  and  other  civil 
officers,  in  each  county  and  township  as  he  shall  find  neces- 
sary for  the  preservation  of  the  peace  and  good  order  in  the 
same.  After  the  General  Assembly  shall  be  organized,  the 
powers  and  duties  of  magistrates  and  other  civil  officers, 
shall  be  regulated  and  defined  by  the  said  Assembly  ; but  all 
magistrates  and  other  civil  officers  not  herein  otherwise 
directed,  shall,  during  the  continuance  of  this  temporary 
government,  be  appointed  by  the  Governor. 

For  the  prevention  of  crime  and  injuries,  the  laws,  to  be 
adopted  or  made,  shall  have  force  in  all  parts  of  the  district, 
and  for  the  execution  of  process,  criminal  and  civil,  the 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


173 


Governor  shall  make  proper  division  thereof ; and  he  shall 
proceed  from  time  to  time  as  circumstances  may  require  to  lay 
out  the  parts  of  the  district  in  which  the  Indian  titles  shall 
have  been  extinguished  into  counties  and  townships,  subject, 
however,  to  such  alterations  as  may  thereafter  be  made  by 
the  legislature. 

So  soon  as  there  shall  be  five  thousand  free  male  inhabi- 
tants of  full  age,  in  the  district,  upon  giving  proof  thereof 
to  the  governor,  they  shall  receive  authority,  with  time  and 
place  to  elect  Representatives  from  their  counties  and  town- 
ships to  represent  them  in  the  General  Assembly  ; provided 
that,  for  every  five  hundred  free  male  inhabitants  there  shall 
be  one  representative,  and  so  on  progressively  with  the 
number  of  free  male  inhabitants  shall  the  right  of  represen- 
tation increase  until  the  number  of  representatives  shall 
amount  to  twenty-five,  after  which  the  number  and  propor- 
tion of  representatives  shall  be  regulated  by  the  legislature  ; 
provided  that  no  person  be  eligible  or  qualified  to  act  as  a 
representative  unless  he  shall  have  been  a citizen  of  one 
of  the  United  States  three  years  and  be  a resident  in  the 
district,  or  unless  he  shall  have  resided  in  the  district  three 
years,  and  in  either  case  shall  likewise  hold  in  his  own  right, 
in  fee  simple,  two  hundred  acres  of  land  within  the  same. 
Provided  also,  that  a freehold  in  fifty  acres  of  land  in  the 
district,  having  been  a citizen  of  one  of  the  States,  and  be- 
ing resident  in  the  district,  or  the  like  freehold  and  two 
years’  residence  in  the  district,  shall  be  necessary  to  qualify 
a man  as  an  elector  of  a representative. 

The  representatives  thus  elected  shall  serve  for  the  term 
of  two  years,  and  in  case  of  the  death  of  the  representative, 
or  removal  from  office,  the  Governor  shall  issue  a writ  to 
the  county  or  township  for  which  he  was  a member,  to  elect 
another  in  his  stead,  to  serve  for  the  residue  of  the  term. 

The  General  Assembly  or  Legislature,  shall  consist  of  the 
Governor,  Legislative  Council  and  a House  of  Represeu- 


174 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


tatives.  The  Legislative  Council  shall  consist  of  five  mem- 
bers to  continue  in  office  five  years,  unless  sooner  removed 
by  Congress,  and  three  of  whom  to  be  a quorum,  and  the 
members  of  the  Council  shall  be  nominated  and  appointed  in 
the  following  manner,  to  wit : As  soon  as  representatives  shall 
be  elected,  the  Governor  shall  appoint  a time  and  place  for 
them  to  meet  together,  and  when  met,  they  shall  nominate 
ten  persons,  residents  in  the  district,  and  each  possessed  of  a 
freehold  in  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  and  return  their 
names  to  Congress ; five  of  whom  Congress  shall  appoint 
and  commission  to  serve  as  aforesaid,  and  whenever  a 
vacancy  shall  happened  in  the  Council,  by  death  or  re- 
moval from  office,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
nominate  two  persons,  qualified  as  aforesaid,  for  each 
vacancy,  and  return  their  names  to  Congress  ; one  of  whom 
Congress  shall  appoint  and  commission  for  the  residue  of 
the  term  ; and  every  five  years,  four  months  at  least  before 
the  expiration  of  the  time  of  service  of  the  members  of 
Council  the  said  House  shall  nominate  ten  persons,  qualified 
as  aforesaid,  and  return  their  names  to  Congress,  five  of 
whom  Congress  shall  appoint  and  commission  to  serve  as 
members  of  the  Council  five  years,  unless  sooner  removed. 
And  the  Governor,  Legislative  Council  and  House  of  Re- 
presentatives, shall  have  authority  to  make  laws  in  all  cases 
for  the  good  government  of  the  district,  not  repugnant  to 
the  principles  and  articles  in  this  Ordinance  established  and 
declared.  And  all  bills  having  passed  by  a majority  in  the 
House  and  by  a majority  in  the  Council,  shall  be  referred  to 
the  Governor  for  his  assent ; but  no  bill  or  legislative  act 
whatever  shall  be  of  any  force  without  his  assent.  The 
Governor  shall  have  power  to  convene,  prorogue,  and  dis- 
solve the  General  Assembly,  when  in  his  opinion  it  shall  be 
expedient. 

The  Governor,  Judges,  Legislative  Council,  Secretary, 
and  such  other  officers  as  Congress  shall  appoint  in  the 
district,  shall  take  an  oath  or  affirmation  of  fidelity  and  of 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


175 


office,  the  Governor  before  the  President  of  Congress,  and 
all  other  officers  before  the  Governor.  As  soon  as  a Legis- 
lature shall  be  formed  in  the  district,  the  Council  and 
House,  assembled  in  one  room,  shall  have  authority,  by 
joint  ballot,  to  elect  a delegate  to  Congress,  who  shall  have 
a seat  in  Congress,  with  a right  of  debating,  but  not  of 
voting,  during  this  temporary  government. 

And  for  extending  [to  all  parts  of  the  Confederacy J 
the  fundamental  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty* 
which  form  the  basis  whereon  these  republics,  their  laws 
and  constitutions,  are  erected ; to  fix  and  establish  those 
principles  as  the  basis  of  all  laws,  constitutions,  and  gov- 
ernments, which  forever  hereafter  shall  be  formed  in  the 
said  territory ; to  provide  also  for  the  establishment  of 
States  and  permanent  government  therein,  and  for  their 
admission  to  a share  in  the  federal  councils,  on  au  equal 
footing  with  the  original  States,  at  as  early  periods  as  may 
be  consistent  with  the  general  interest: 

It  is  hereby  ordained  and  declared  by  the  authority  afore- 
said, That  the  following  articles  shall  be  considered  as  arti- 
cles of  compact  between  the  original  States  and  the  people 
and  States  in  the  said  territory,  and  forever  remain  unalter- 
able, unless  by  common  consent,  to-wit : 

Article  1.  No  person,  demeaning  himself  in  a peaceable 
and  orderly  manner,  shall  ever  be  molested  on  account  ot 
his  mode  of  worship  or  religious  sentiments  in  the  said 
territory. 

Article  2.  The  inhabitants  of  the  said  territory  shall 
always  be  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  and  of  the  trial  by  jury;  of  a proportionate  repre- 
sentation of  the  people  in  the  Legislature,  and  of  judicial 
proceedings  according  to  the  course  of  the  common  law ; 
all  persons  shall  be  bailable,  unless  for  capital  offenses, 
where  the  proof  shall  be  evident  or  the  presumption  great; 
all  fines  shall  be  moderate,  and  no  cruel  or  unusual  punish- 


176 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


ments  shall  be  inflicted  ; no  man  shall  be  deprived  of  his 
liberty  or  property  but  by  the  judgment  of  his  peers,  or  the 
law  of  the  land  ; and  should  the  public  exigencies  make  it 
necessary,  for  the  common  preservation,  to  take  any  per- 
son’s property,  or  to  demand  his  particular  services,  full 
compensation  shall  be  made  for  the  same ; and,  in  the  just 
preservation  of  rights  and  property,  it  is  understood  and 
declared  that  no  law  ought  ever  to  be  made  or  have  force 
in  the  said  territory,  that  shall  in  any  manner  whatever 
interfere  with  or  affect  private  contracts  or  engagements, 
bona  fide  and  without  fraud  previously  formed. 

Article  3.  [ Institutions  for  the  promotion  of]  reli- 

gion [and]  morality,  and  knowledge,  being  necessary 

TO  GOOD  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  HAPPINESS  OF  MANKIND, 
schools  and  the  means  of  education  shall  forever  be  en- 
couraged, [ and  all  persons  while  young  shall  be  taught 
some  useful  occupation.]  The  utmost  good  faith  shall 
always  be  observed  towards  the  Indians ; their  lands  and 
property  shall  never  be  taken  from  them  without  their  con- 
sent ; and  in  their  property,  rights,  and  liberty,  they  never 
shall  be  invaded  or  disturbed,  unless  in  just  and  lawful 
wars  authorized  by  Congress ; but  laws  founded  in  justice 
and  humanity  shall  from  time  to  time  be  made,  for  pre- 
venting wrongs  being  done  to  them,  and  for  preserving 
peace  and  friendship  with  them. 

Article  4.  The  said  territory  and  the  States  which 
may  be  formed  therein,  shall  forever  remain  a part  of  this 
confederacy  of  the  United  States  of  America,  subject  to 
the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  to  such  alterations 
therein  as  shall  be  constitutionally  made ; and  to  all  the 
acts  and  ordinances  of  the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled.  The  Legislature  of  those  districts,  or  new 
States,  shall  never  interfere  with  the  primary  disposal  of 
the  soil  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  nor 
with  any  regulations  Congress  may  find  necessary  for  66- 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


177 


curing  the  title  in  such  soil  to  bona  fide  purchasers.  No 
tax  shall  be  imposed  on  lands  the  property  of  the  United 
States;  and  in  no  case  shall  non-resident  proprietors  be 
taxed  higher  than  residents.  The  navigable  waters  leading 
into  the  Mississippi  and  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  carrying- 
places  between  the  same,  shall  be  common  highways,  and 
forever  free,  as  well  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  territory 
as  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  those  of  any 
other  States  that  may  be  admitted  into  the  confederacy, 
without  any  tax,  impost,  or  duty  therefor. 

Article  5.  There  shall  be  formed  in  the  said  territory 
not  less  than  three,  nor  more  than  five  States  ; and  the 
boundaries  of  the  States,  as  soon  as  Virginia  shall  alter  her 
act  of  cession  and  [ authorize ] consent  to  the  same,  shall 
become  fixed  and  established  as  follows,  to  wit:  The  west- 
ern State  in  the  said  territory  shall  be  bounded  by  the 
Mississippi,  the  Ohio,  and  Wabash  rivers;  a direct  line 
drawn  from  the  Wabash  and  Post  Vincent’s,  due  north  to 
the  territorial  line  between  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
and  by  the  said  territorial  line  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods 
and  Mississippi.  The  middle  State  shall  be  bounded  by 
the  said  direct  line,  the  Wabash  from  Post  Vincent’s  to 
the  Ohio  ; by  the  Ohio,  by  a direct  line  drawn  due  north 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami  to  the  said  territorial 
line,  and  by  the  said  territorial  line.  The  eastern  State 
shall  be  bounded  by  the  last-mentioned  direct  line,  the 
Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  the  said  territorial  line  : Provided, 
however,  and  it  is  further  understood  and  declared,  that  the 
boundaries  of  these  three  States,  shall  be  subject  so  far  to 
be  altered,  that  if  Congress  shall  hereafter  find  it  expedient, 
they  shall  have  authority  to  form  one  or  two  States  in  that 
part  of  the  said  territory  which  lies  north  of  an  east  and 
west  line  drawn  through  the  southerly  bend  or  extreme  of 
Lake  Michigan ; and  whenever  any  of  the  said  States  shall 
have  sixty  thousand  free  inhabitants  therein,  such  State 
12 


178 


THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 


shall  be  admitted  by  its  delegates  into  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original  States 
in  all  respects  whatever ; and  shall  be  at  liberty  to  form  a 
permanent  constitution  and  State  government : Provided 
the  constitution  and  government  so  to  be  formed  shall  be 
republican,  and  in  conformity  to  the  principles  contained  in 
these  articles ; and,  so  far  as  it  can  be  consistent  with  the 
general  interest  of  the  confederacy,  such  admission  shall  be 
allowed  at  an  earlier  period,  and  when  there  may  be  a less 
number  of  free  inhabitants  in  the  State  than  sixty  thousand. 

Article  6.  There  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  involun- 
tary servitude  in  the  said  territory,  otherwise  than  in  punish- 
ment of  crimes  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  con- 
victed : Provided  always,  that  any  person  escaping  into  the 
same,  from  whom  labor  or  service  is  lawfully  claimed  in  any 
one  of  the  original  States,  such  fugitive  may  be  lawfully 
reclaimed  and  conveyed  to  the  person  claiming  his  or  her 
labor  or  service  as  aforesaid. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  the 
resolutions  of  the  23d  of  April,  1784,  relative  to  the  subject 
of  this  ordinance,  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  repealed,  and 
declared  null  and  void. 

Done  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  the 
thirteenth  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1787,  and 
of  the  sovereignty  and  independence  the  twelfth. 

CHAS.  THOMPSON, 

Secretary. 


CHAPTER  Y. 


THE  SLAVE  TRADE. 

In  Congress,  Friday,  Feb.  12,  1190,  the  following  memo- 
rial of  the  Pennsylvania  Society  for  promoting  the  aboli- 
tion of  slavery,  the  relief  of  free  negroes  unlawfully  held  in 
bondage,  and  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  Afri- 
can race,  was  presented  and  read.* 

This  memorial  respectfully  showeth,  that  from  a regard 
for  the  happiness  of  mankind,  an  association  was  formed 
several  years  since  in  this  State,  by  a number  of  her  citizens 
of  various  religions  denominations,  for  promoting  the  abo- 
lition of  slavery,  and  for  the  relief  of  those  unlawfully  held 
in  bondage.  A just  and  acute  conception  of  the  true 
principles  of  liberty  as  it  spread  through  the  land,  produced 
accessions  to  their  numbers,  many  friends  of  their  cause, 
and  a legislative  co-operation  with  their  views,  which  by 
the  blessing  of  Divine  Providence,  have  been  successfully 
directed  to  the  relieving  from  bondage  a large  number  of 
their  fellow-creatures  of  the  African  race.  They  have  also 
the  satisfaction  to  observe,  that — in  consequence  of  that 
spirit  of  philanthropy  and  genuine  liberty  which  is  gener- 
ally diffusing  its  beneficial  influence, — similar  institutions 
are  forming  at  home  and  abroad. 

That  mankind  are  all  formed  by  the  same  Almighty  Be- 
ing, alike  objects  of  his  care,  and  equally  assigned  for  the 

* It  will  be  noticed  that  this  was  the  first  Congress  assembled 
under  the  Constitution,  and  was  the  first  action  taken  by  that 
body  on  the  subject. 


180 


THE  SLAVE  TRADE. 


enjoyment  of  happiness,  the  Christian  religion  teaches  us 
to  believe  ; and  the  political  creed  of  Americans  fully  coin- 
cides with  the  position.  Your  memorialists,  particularly 
engaged  in  attending  to  the  distresses  arising  from  slavery, 
believe  it  their  indispensable  duty  to  present  this  subject  to 
your  notice.  They  have  observed,  with  real  satisfaction,  that 
many  important  and  salutary  powers  are  vested  in  you  for 
“ promoting  the  welfare,  and  securing  the  blessings  of 
liberty  to  the  people  of  the  United  States;”  and  as  they  con- 
ceive that  these  blessings  ought  rightfully  to  be  administered, 
without  distinction  of  color,  to  all  descriptions  of  people, 
so  they  indulge  themselves  in  the  pleasing  expectation  that 
nothing  which  can  be  done  for  the  relief  of  the  unhappy 
objects  of  their  care  will  be  either  omitted  or  delayed. 

From  a persuasion  that  equal  liberty  was  originally  the 
portion,  and  is  still  the  birthright  of  all  men,  and  influenced 
by  the  strong  ties  of  humanity,  and  the  principles  of  their 
institution,  your  memorialists  conceive  themselves  bound  to 
use  all  justifiable  endeavors  to  loosen  the  bands  of  slavery; 
and  promote  a general  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  free- 
dom. Under  these  impressions,  they  earnestly  entreat  your 
serious  attention  to  the  subject  of  slavery.  That  you  will 
be  pleased  to  countenance  the  restoration  of  liberty  to 
those  unhappy  men  who  alone  in  this  land  of  freedom  are 
degraded  into  perpetual  bondage,  and  who,  amidst  the 
general  joy  of  surrounding  freemen,  are  groaning  in  servile 
subjection  ; that  you  will  devise  means  for  removing  this 
inconsistency  from  the  character  of  the  American  people ; 
that  you  will  promote  mercy  and  justice  toward  this  dis- 
tressed race,  and  that  you  will  step  to  the  very  verge  of 
the  power  invested  in  you  for  discouraging  every  species  of 
traffic  in  the  persons  of  our  fellow-men. 

The  memorial  was  referred  to  a special  committee. 


TEE  SLAVE  TRADE. 


181 


REPORT  OP  THE  SPECIAL  COMMITTEE. 

The  Committee  to  whom  were  referred  sundry  memorials 
from  the  people  called  Quakers  ; and  also  a memorial  from 
the  Pennsylvania  Society  for  promoting  the  Abolition  of 
Slavery,  submit  the  following  report : 

That,  from  the  nature  of  the  matters  contained  in  these 
memorials,  they  were  induced  to  examine  the  powers  vested 
in  Congress  under  the  present  Constitution,  relating  to  tho 
abolition  of  Slavery,  and  are  clearly  of  opinion — 

Firstly.  That  the  General  Government  is  expressly  re- 
strained from  prohibiting  the  importation  of  such  persons 
“as  any  of  the  other  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper 
to  admit  until  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
eight.” 

Secondly.  That  Congress,  by  a fair  construction  of  the 
Constitution,  is  equally  restrained  from  interfering  in  the 
emancipation  of  slaves,  who  already  are,  or  who  may, 
within  the  period  mentioned,  be  imported  into,  or  born 
within,  any  of  the  said  States. 

Thirdly.  That  Congress  has  no  authority  to  interfere  in 
the  internal  regulations  of  particular  States,  relative  to  the 
instruction  of  slaves  in  the  principles  of  morality  and  re- 
ligion ; to  their  comfortable  clothing,  accommodations,  and 
subsistence ; to  the  regulation  of  their  marriages,  and  the 
violation  of  the  rights  thereof,  or  the  separation  of  children 
from  their  parents ; to  a comfortable  provision  in  case  of 
sickness,  age,  or  infirmity  ; or  to  the  seizure,  transportation, 
or  sale  of  free  negroes  ; but  have  the  fullest  confidence  in 
the  wisdom  and  humanity  of  the  legislatures  of  the  several 
States ; that  they  will  revise  their  laws  from  time  to  time, 
when  necessary,  and  promote  the  objects  mentioned  in  the 
memorials,  and  every  other  measure  that  may  tend  to  the 
happiness  of  slaves. 

Fourthly.  That,  nevertheless,  Congress  have  authority, 


182 


THE  SLAVE  TRADE. 


if  they  shall  think  it  necessary,  to  lay  at  any  time  a tax  or 
duty,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  person  of  any  des- 
cription, the  importation  of  whom  shall  be  by  any  of  the 
States  admitted  as  aforesaid. 

Fifthly.  That  Congress  have  authority  to  interdict,  or 
(so  far  as  it  is  or  may  be  carried  on  by  citizens  of  the 
United  States  for  supplying  foreigners,)  to  regulate  the 
African  trade,  and  to  make  provision  for  the  humane  treat- 
ment of  slaves  in  all  instances  while  on  their  passage  to  the 
United  States,  or  to  foreign  ports,  so  far  as  it  respects  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States. 

Sixthly.  That  Congress  have  also  authority  to  prohibit 
foreigners  from  fitting  out  vessels  in  any  port  of  the  United 
States,  for  transporting  persons  from  Africa  to  any  foreign 
port. 

Seventhly.  That  the  memorialists  be  informed  that,  in 
all  cases  in  which  the  authority  of  Congress  extends,  they 
will  exercise  it  for  the  humane  object  of  the  memorialists, 
so  far  as  they  can  be  promoted  on  the  principles  of  justice, 
humanity,  and  good  policy. 

EEPOET  Of  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  WHOLE  HOUSE, 
On  the  Report  of  the  Special  Committee  preceding. 

March  25,  1190.  The  Committee  of  the  whole  House, 
to  whom  was  committed  the  report  of  the  committee  on  the 
memorials  of  the  people  called  Quakers,  and  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Society  for  promoting  the  Abolition  of  Slavery, 
report  the  following  amendments. 

Strike  out  the  first  clause,  together  with  the  recital  thereto, 
and  in  lieu  thereof,  insert,  “ That  the  migration  or  importa- 
tion of  such  persons  as  any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall 
think  proper  to  admit,  cannot  be  prohibited  by  Congress, 
prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight.” 

Strike  out  the  second  and  third  clauses,  and  in  lieu 
thereof,  iusert  “ That  Congress  have  no  authority  to  inter- 


THE  SLAVE  TRADE. 


183 


fere  in  the  emancipation  of  slaves  or  in  the  treatment  of 
them  within  any  of  the  States  ; it  remaining  with  the  several 
States  alone  to  provide  any  regulations  therein,  which 
humanity  and  true  policy  may  require.” 

Strike  out  the  fourth  and  fifth  clauses,  and  in  lieu  thereof, 
insert,  “ That  Congress  have  authority  to  restrain  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  from  carrying  on  the  African 
trade,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  foreigners  with  slaves  ; 
and  of  providing,  by  proper  regulations,  for  the  humane 
treatment  during  their  passage,  of  slaves  imported  by  the 
said  citizens  into  the  States  admitting  such  importation.” 

Strike  out  the  seventh  clause. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


VIRGINIA  RESOLUTIONS  OF  1798, 

Pronouncing  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws  to  be  unconsti * 
tutional,  and  defining  the  rights  of  the  States.  ( Drawn 

by  Mr.  Madison.) 

Resolved,  That  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia,  doth 
unequivocally  express  a firm  resolution  to  maintain  and  de- 
fend the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Constitu- 
tion of  this  State,  against  every  aggression,  either  foreign  or 
domestic,  and  that  they  will  support  the  government  of  the 
United  States  in  all  measures  warranted  by  the  former. 

That  this  Assembly  most  solemnly  declares  a warm  attach- 
ment to  the  union  of  the  States,  to  maintain  which  it  pledges 
its  power;  and  that  for  this  end,  it  is  their  duty  to  watch 
over  and  oppose  every  infraction  of  those  principles  which 
constitute  the  only  basis  of  that  union,  because  a faithful 
observance  of  them  can  alone  secure  its  existence  and  the 
public  happiness. 

That  this  Assembly  doth  explicitly  and  peremptorily  de- 
clare, that  it  views  the  powers  of  the  federal  government  as 
resulting  from  the  compact  to  which  the  States  are  parties, 
as  limited  by  the  plain  sense  and  intention  of  the  instrument 
constituting  that  compact,  as  no  further  valid  than  they  are 
authorized  by  the  grant  enumerated  in  that  compact ; and 
that,  in  case  of  a deliberate,  palpable,  and  dangerous 
exercise  of  other  powers,  not  granted  by  the  said  compact, 
the  States  who  are  parties  thereto,  have  the  right,  and  are 
in  duty  bound  to  interpose,  for  arresting  the  progress  of 
(184) 


VIRGINIA  RESOLUTIONS  OF  1798. 


185 


the  evil,  and  for  maintaining  within  their  respective  limits, 
the  authorities,  rights,  and  liberties,  appertaining  to  them. 

That  the  General  Assembly  doth  also  express  its  deepest 
regret,  that  a spirit  has,  in  sundry  instances,  been  mani- 
fested by  the  federal  government  to  enlarge  its  powers  by 
forced  constructions  of  the  constitutional  charter  which  de- 
fines them  : and  that  indications  have  appeared  of  a design 
to  expound  certain  general  phrases  (which,  having  been 
copied  from  the  very  limited  grant  of  powers  in  the  former 
Articles  of  Confederation,  were  the  less  liable  to  be  mis- 
construed) so  as  to  destroy  the  meaning  and  effect  of  the 
particular  enumeration  which  necessarily  explains  and  limits 
the  general  phrases,  and  so  as  to  consolidate  the  States,  by 
degrees,  into  one  sovereignty,  the  obvious  tendency  and 
inevitable  result  of  which  would  be,  to  transform  the  pre- 
sent republican  system  of  the  United  States  into  an  abso- 
lute, or,  at  best,  a mixed  monarchy. 

That  the  General  Assembly  doth  particularly  protest 
against  the  palpable  and  alarming  infractions  of  the  Con- 
stitution, in  the  two  late  cases  of  the  “ Alien  and  Sedition 
Acts,”  passed  at  the  late  session  of  Congress  : the  first  of 
which  exercises  a power  nowhere  delegated  to  the  federal 
government,  and  which,  by  uniting  legislative  and  judicial 
powers  to  those  of  executive  subverts  the  general  principle 
of  free  government,  as  well  as  the  particular  organization 
and  positive  provisions  of  the  federal  Constitution  : and 
the  other  of  which  acts  exercises,  in  like  manner,  a power 
not  delegated  by  the  Constitution,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
expressly  and  positively  forbidden  by  one  of  the  amend- 
ments thereto — a power,  which,  more  than  any  other,  ought 
to  produce  universal  alarm,  because  it  is  leveled  against 
the  right  of  freely  examining  public  characters  and  mea- 
sures, and  of  free  communication  among  the  people 
thereon,  which  has  ever  been  justly  deemed  the  only  effec- 
tual guardian  of  every  other  right. 


186 


VIRGINIA  RESOLUTIONS  OF  1798. 


That  this  State  having,  by  its  Convention,  which  ratified 
the  federal  Constitution,  expressly  declared  that,  among 
other  essential  rights,  “the  liberty  of  conscience  and  the 
press  cannot  be  concealed,  abridged,  restrained,  or  modified 
by  any  authority  of  the  United  States,”  and  from  its  ex- 
treme anxiety  to  guard  these  rights  from  every  possible 
attack  of  sophistry  and  ambition,  having,  with  other  States, 
recommended  an  amendment  for  that  purpose,  which  amend- 
ment was,  in  due  time,  annexed  to  the  Constitution, — it 
would  mark  a reproachful  inconsistency,  and  criminal  de- 
generacy, if  an  indifference  were  now  shown  to  the  most 
palpable  violation  of  one  of  the  rights  thus  declared  and 
secured,  and  to  the  establishment  of  a precedent  which  may 
be  fatal  to  the  other. 

That  the  good  people  of  this  commonwealth,  having  ever 
felt,  and  continuing  to  feel,  the  most  sincere  affection  for 
their  brethren  of  the  other  States ; the  truest  anxiety 
for  establishing  and  perpetuating  the  union  of  all,  and  the 
most  scrupulous  fidelity  to  that  Constitution,  which  is  the 
pledge  of  mutual  friendship,  and  the  instrument  of  mutual 
happiness,  the  General  Assembly  doth  solemnly  appeal 
to  the  like  dispositions  in  the  other  States,  in  confidence 
that  they  will  concur  with  this  commonwealth  in  declaring, 
as  it  does  hereby  declare,  that  the  acts  aforesaid  are  uncon- 
stitutional, and  that  the  necessary  and  proper  measures  will 
be  taken  by  each  for  co-operating  with  this  State  in  main- 
taining unimpaired  the  authorities,  rights,  and  liberties,  re- 
served to  the  States  respectively  or  to  the  people. 

That  the  Governor  be  desired  to  transmit  a copy  of  the 
foregoing  resolutions  to  the  executive  of  each  of  the  other 
States,  with  a request  that  the  same  may  be  communicated 
to  the  legislature  thereof,  and  that  a copy  be  furnished  to 
each  of  the  senators  and  representatives  representing  this 
State  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 


KENTUCKY  RESOLUTIONS  OF  1798 — 9.  187 


KENTUCKY  RESOLUTIONS  OP  1798  AND  1799. 

{Drawn  by  Mr.  Jefferson .) 

1.  Resolved,  That  the  several  States  composing  the 
United  States  of  America  are  not  united  on  the  principle 
of  unlimited  submission  to  their  general  government ; but 
that  by  compact,  under  the  style  and  title  of  a Constitution 
for  the  United  States,  and  of  amendments  thereto,  they 
constituted  a general  government  for  special  purposes,  dele- 
gated to  that  government  certain  power,  reserving,  each 
State  to  itself,  the  residuary  mass  of  rights  to  their  own  self- 
government,  and  that  whensoever  the  general  government 
assumes  undelegated  powers,  its  acts  are  unauthoritative, 
void,  of  no  force  ; that  to  this  compact  each  State  acceded 
as  a State,  and  is  an  integral  party;  that  this  government, 
created  by  this  compact,  was  not  made  the  exclusive  or  final 
judge  of  the  extent  of  the  powers  delegated  to  itself,  since 
that  would  have  made  its  discretion,  and  not  the  Constitu- 
tion, the  measure  of  its  powers  ; but  that,  as  in  all  other 
casus  of  compact  among  parties  having  no  common  judge, 
each  party  has  an  equal  right  to  judge  for  itself,  as  well 
of  infractions  as  of  the  mode  and  measure  of  redress. 

2.  Resolved,  That  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
having  delegated  to  Congress  a power  to  punish  treason, 
counterfeiting  the  securities  and  current  coin  of  the  United 
States,  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high  seas, 
and  offenses  against  the  laws  of  nations,  and  no  other  crimes 
whatever,  and  it  being  true,  as  a general  principle,  and  one 
of  the  amendments  to  the  Constitution  having  also  declared, 
“that  the  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the 
Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved 
to  the  States  respectively  or  to  the  people,”  therefore,  also, 
the  same  act  of  Congress,  passed  on  the  14th  day  of  July, 
1798,  and  entitled  “An  Act  in  addition  to  the  Act  entitled 
an  Act  for  the  punishment  of  certain  crimes  against  the 


188  KENTUCKY  RESOLUTIONS  OF  1798 — 9. 


United  States  as  also  the  act  passed  by  them  on  the  27th 
day  of  June,  1798,  entitled  an  Act  to  punish  frauds  com- 
mitted on  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  (and  all  other 
their  acts  which  assume  to  create,  define,  or  punish  crimes 
other  than  those  enumerated  in  the  Constitution,)  are  alto- 
gether void,  and  of  no  force  ; and  that  the  power  to  create, 
define,  and  punish  such  other  crimes  is  reserved,  and  of  right 
appertains,  solely  and  exclusively  to  the  respective  States, 
each  within  its  own  territory. 

3.  Resolved,  That  it  is  true,  as  a general  principle,  and  is 
also  expressly  declared  by  one  of  the  amendments  of  the 
Constitution,  that  “ the  powers  not  delegated  to  the 
United  States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to 
the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respectively,  or  to  the 
people  and  that,  no  power  over  the  freedom  of  religion, 
freedom  of  speech,  or  freedom  of  the  press,  being  delegated 
to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution,  uor  prohibited  by 
it  to  the  States,  all  lawful  powers  respecting  the  same  did  of 
right  remain,  and  were  reserved  to  the  States,  or  to  the 
people ; that  thus  was  manifested  their  determination,  to 
retain  to  themselves  the  right  of  judging  how  far  the  licen- 
tiousness of  speech,  and  of  the  press,  may  be  abridged  with- 
out lessening  their  useful  freedom,  and  how  far  those  abuses 
which  cannot  be  separated  from  their  use,  should  be  tole- 
rated rather  than  the  use  be  destroyed  ; and  thus  also  they 
guarded  against  all  abridgment,  by  the  United  States,  of 
the  freedom  of  all  religious  principles  and  exercises,  and  re- 
tained to  themselves  the  right  of  protecting  the  same,  as 
thus  stated,  by  a law  passed  on  the  general  demand  of  its 
citizens,  had  already  protected  them  from  all  human  re- 
straint or  interference,  and  that,  in  addition  to  this  general 
principle,  and  express  determination,  another  and  more 
special  provision  has  been  made  by  one  of  the  amendments 
to  the  Constitution,  which  expressly  declares,  that  “Con- 
gress shall  make  no  laws  respecting  an  establishment  of  re- 


KENTUCKY  RESOLUTIONS  OF  1798 — 9.  189 


ligion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof,  or  abridging 
the  freedom  of  speech  or  the  press,”  thereby  guarding  in 
the  same  sentence  and  under  the  same  words,  the  freedom 
of  religion,  of  speech,  and  of  the  press,  insomuch  that  what- 
ever violates  either  throws  down  the  sanctuary  which  covers 
the  others, — and  that  libels,  falsehood  and  defamation, 
equally  with  heresy  and  false  religion,  are  withheld  from 
the  cognizance  of  federal  tribunals.  That,  therefore,  the  act 
of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  passed  on  the  14th 
of  July,  1798,  entitled,  An  Act  in  addition  to  the  Act  en- 
titled an  Act  for  the  punishment  of  certain  crimes  against 
the  United  States,”  which  does  abridge  the  freedom  of  the 
press,  is  not  law,  but  is  altogether  void,  and  of  no  force. 

4.  Resolved,  That  alien  friends  are  under  the  jurisdiction 
and  protection  of  the  laws  of  the  State  wherein  they  are  ; 
that  no  power  over  them  has  been  delegated  to  the  United 
States,  nor  prohibited  to  the  individual  States,  distinct  from 
their  power  over  citizens ; and  it  being  true  as  a gene- 
ral principle,  and  one  of  the  amendments  to  the  Constitution 
having  also  declared,  that  “the  powers  not  delegated  to 
the  United  States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  to  the 
States,  are  reserved  to  the  States,  respectively,  or  to  the 
people,”  the  Act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
passed  the  22nd  day  of  June,  1798,  entitled,  “ An  Act  con- 
cerning Aliens,”  which  assumes  power  over  alien  friends 
not  delegated  by  the  Constitution,  is  not  law,  but  is  alto- 
gether void  and  of  no  force. 

5.  Resolved,  That,  in  addition  to  the  general  principle, 
as  well  as  the  express  declaration,  that  powers  not  dele- 
gated are  reserved,  another  and  more  special  provision,  in- 
serted in  the  Constitution  from  abundant  cautiou,  has  de- 
clared, “ that  the  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons 
as  any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  ad- 
mit, shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to  the 
year  1808.”  That  this  commonwealth  does  admit  the 


190  KENTUCKY  RESOLUTIONS  OF  1798 — 9. 

migration  of  alien  friends  described  as  the  subject  of  the 
said  act  concerning  aliens,  that  a provision  against  prohibi- 
ting their  migration  is  a provision  against  all  acts  equiva- 
lent thereto,  or  it  would  be  nugatory  ; that  to  remove  them 
when  migrated,  is  equivalent  to  a prohibition  of  their  migra- 
tion, and  is,  therefore,  contrary  to  the  said  provision  of  the 
Constitution,  and  void. 

6.  Resolved.  That  the  imprisonment  of  a person  under 
the  protection  of  the  laws  of  this  Commonwealth,  on  his 
failure  to  obey  the  simple  order  of  the  President  to  depart 
out  of  the  United  States,  as  is  undertaken  by  the  said  act, 
entitled,  “An  Act  concerning  Aliens,”  is  contrary  to  the 
Constitution,  one  amendment  in  which  has  provided  that 
“ no  person  shall  be  deprived  of  liberty  without  due  process 
of  law;”  and  that  another  having  provided,  “that,  in  all 
criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  of  a 
public  trial  by  an  impartial  jury,  to  be  informed  as  to  the 
nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation,  to  be  confronted  with 
the  witnesses  against  him,  to  have  compulsory  process  for 
obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  assistance  of 
counsel  for  his  defense,”  the  same  act  undertaking  to  autho- 
rize the  President  to  remove  a person  out  of  the  United 
States  who  is  under  the  protection  of  the  law,  on  his  own 
suspicion,  without  jury,  without  public  trial,  without  con- 
frontation of  the  witnesses  against  him,  without  having 
witnesses  in  his  favor,  without  defense,  without  counsel,' — ■ 
contrary  to  these  provisions  also  of  the  Constitution — is 
therefore  not  law,  but  utterly  void,  and  of  no  force. 

That  transferring  the  power  of  judging  any  person  who  is 
under  the  protection  of  the  laws,  from  the  courts  to  tho 
President  of  the  United  States,  as  is  undertaken  by  the 
same  act  concerning  aliens,  is  against  the  article  of  the 
Constitution  which  provides  “that  the  judicial  power  of  the 
United  States  shall  be  vested  in  the  courts,  the  judges 
of  which  shall  hold  their  office  during  their  good  behavior,” 


KENTUCKY  RESOLUTIONS  OF  1798 — 9.  191 


and  that  the  said  act  is  void  for  that  reason  also  ; and  it  is 
farther  to  be  noted  that  this  transfer  of  judiciary  power  is 
to  that  magistrate  of  the  general  government  who  already 
possesses  all  the  executive  and  a qualified  negative  ou  all 
the  legislation. 

7.  Resolved,  That  the  construction  applied  by  the 
general  government  (as  is  evident  by  sundry  of  their 
proceedings)  to  those  parts  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  which  delegate  to  Congress  power  to  lay 
and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  excises,  to  pay  the  debts, 
and  provide  for  the  common  defense  and  general  welfare, 
of  the  United  States,  and  to  make  all  laws  which  shall  be 
necessary  and  proper  for  carrying  into  execution  the  powers 
vested  by  the  Constitution  in  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  or  any  department  thereof,  goes  to  the  destruction 
of  all  the  limits  prescribed  to  their  power  by  the  Constitu- 
tion ; that  words  meant  by  that  instrument  to  be  subsidiary 
only  to  the  execution  of  the  limited  powers,  ought  not  to  be 
so  construed  as  themselves  to  give  unlimited  powers,  nor  a 
part  so  to  be  taken  as  to  destroy  the  whole  residue  of  the 
instrument ; that  the  proceedings  of  the  general  government 
under  color  of  these  articles,  will  be  a fit  and  necessary  sub- 
ject for  revisal  and  correction  at  a time  of  greater  tran- 
quillity, while  those  specified  in  the  preceding  resolutions 
call  for  immediate  redress. 

8.  Resolved,  That  the  preceding  resolutions  be  trans- 
mitted to  the  senators  and  representatives  in  Congress  from 
this  commonwealth,  who  are  enjoined  to  present  the  same 
to  their  respective  houses,  and  to  use  their  best  endeavors 
to  procure,  at  the  next  session  of  Congress,  a repeal  of  the 
aforesaid  unconstitutional  and  obnoxious  acts. 

9.  Resolved,  lastly,  That  the  governor  of  this  common- 
wealth be,  and  is,  authorized  and  requested  to  communicate 
the  preceding  resolutions  to  the  legislatures  of  the  several 
States,  to  assure  them  that  this  commonwealth  considers 


192  KENTUCKY  RESOLUTIONS  OF  1798 — 9. 


union  for  special  national  purposes,  and  particularly  for 
those  specified  in  their  late  federal  compact,  to  be  friendly 
to  the  peace,  happiness,  and  prosperity  of  all  the  States ; 
that,  faithful  to  that  compact,  according  to  the  plain  in- 
tent and  meaning  in  which  it  was  understood  and  acceded 
to  by  the  several  parties,  it  is  sincerely  anxious  for  its 
preservation ; that  it  does  also  believe  that,  to  take  from 
the  States  all  the  powers  of  self-government,  and  transfer 
them  to  a general  and  consolidated  government,  without 
regard  to  the  special  government  and  reservations  solemnly 
agreed  to  in  that  compact,  is  not  for  the  peace,  happiness, 
or  prosperity  of  these  States ; and  that,  therefore,  this  com- 
monwealth is  determined,  as  it  doubts  not  its  co-States  are, 
to  submit  to  undelegated  and  consequently  unlimited  pow- 
ers in  no  man,  or  body  of  men,  on  earth  ; that,  if  the  acts 
before  specified  should  stand,  these  conclusions  would  flow 
from  them, — that  the  general  government  may  place  any 
act  they  think  proper  on  the  list  of  crimes,  and  punish  it 
themselves,  whether  enumerated  or  not  enumerated  by  the 
Constitution  as  recognized  by  them ; that  they  may  transfer 
vts  cognizance  to  the  President,  or  any  other  person,  who 
may  himself  be  the  accuser,  counsel,  judge,  and  jury,  whose 
suspicions  may  be  evidence,  his  order  the  sentence,  his  offi- 
cer the  executioner,  and  his  breast  the  sole’  record  of  the 
transaction  ; that  a very  numerous  and  valuable  description 
of  the  inhabitants  of  these  States,  being  by  this  precedent 
reduced,  as  outlaws,  to  the  absolute  dominion  of  one  man, 
and  the  barriers  of  the  Constitution  thus  swept  from  us  all, 
no  rampart  now  remains  against  the  passion  and  the  power 
of  a majority  of  Congress  to  protect  from  a like  exporta- 
tion, or  other  grievous  punishment,  the  minority  of  the 
same  body,  the  legislatures,  judges,  governors,  and  counsel- 
lors of  the  State,  nor  their  peaceable  inhabitants,  who  may 
venture  to  reclaim  the  constitutional  rights  and  liberties  of 
the  States  and  people,  or  who,  for  other  causes,  good  or 


KENTUCKY  RESOLUTIONS  OF  1798—9.  193 


bad,  may  be  obnoxious  to  the  view,  or  marked  by  the  sus- 
picions, of  the  President,  or  thought  dangerous  to  his  elec- 
tions, or  other  interests,  public  or  personal ; that  the  friend- 
less alien  has  been  selected  as  the  safest  subject  oi  a first 
experiment ; but  the  citizen  will  soon  follow,  or  rather  has 
already  followed ; for  already  has  a Sedition  Act  marked 
him  as  a prey ; that  these  and  successive  acts  of  the  same 
character,  unless  arrested  on  the  threshold,  may  tend  to 
drive  these  States  into  revolution  and  blood,  and  will  fur- 
nish new  calumnies  against  republican  governments,  and 
new  pretexts  for  those  who  wish  it  to  be  believed  that  man 
cannot  be  governed  but  by  a rod  of  iron  ; that  it  would  be 
a dangerous  delusion  were  a confidence  in  the  men  of  our 
choice  to  silence  our  fears  for  the  safety  of  our  rights  ; that 
confidence  is  everywhere  the  parent  of  despotism  ; free 
government  is  founded  in  jealousy,  and  not  in  confidence ; 
it  is  jealousy,  not  confidence,  which  prescribes  limited  con- 
stitutions to  bind  down  those  whom  we  are  obliged  to  trust 
with  power;  that  our  Constitution  has  accordingly  fixed 
the  limits  to  which,  and  no  farther,  our  confidence  may  go  ; 
and  let  the  honest  advocate  of  confidence  read  the  Alien  and 
Sedition  Acts,  and  say  if  the  Constitution  has  not  been 
wise  in  fixing  limits  to  the  government  it  created,  and 
whether  we  should  be  wise  in  destroying  those  limits  ; let 
him  say  what  the  government  is,  if  it  be  not  a tyranny, 
which  the  men  of  our  choice  have  conferred  on  the  Presi- 
dent, and  the  President  of  our  choice  has  assented  to  and 
accepted,  over  the  friendly  strangers  to  whom  the  mild 
spirit  of  our  country  and  its  laws  had  pledged  hospitality 
and  protection;  that  the  men  of  cur  choice  have  more  re- 
spected the  base  suspicions  of  the  President,  than  the  solid 
rights  of  ignorance,  the  claims  of  justification,  the  sacred 
force  of  truth,  and  the  forms  and  substance  of  law  and 
justice. 

In  questions  of  power,  then,  let  no  more  be  said  of  con- 
13 


194  KENTUCKY  RESOLUTIONS  OF  1798 — 9. 


fidence  in  man,  but  bind  him  down  from  mischief  by  the 
chains  of  the  Constitution.  That  this  commonwealth  does 
therefore  call  on  its  co-States  for  an  expression  of  their 
sentiments  on  the  acts  concerning  aliens,  and  for  the  pun- 
ishment of  certain  crimes  herein  before  specified,  plainly 
declaring  whether  these  acts  are  or  are  not  authorized  by 
the  federal  compact.  And  it  doubts  not  that  their  sense 
will  be  so  announced  as  to  prove  their  attachment  to  limited 
government,  whether  general  or  particular,  and  that  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  their  co-States  will  be  exposed  to  no 
dangers  by  remaining  embarked  on  a common  bottom  with 
their  own;  but  they  will  concur  with  this  commonwealth 
in  considering  the  said  acts  as  so  palpably  against  the  Con- 
stitution as  to  amount  to  an  undisguised  declaration,  that 
the  compact  is  not  meaut  to  be  the  measure  of  the  powers 
of  the  general  government,  but  that  it  will  proceed  in  the 
exercise  over  these  States  of  all  powers  whatever ; that  they 
will  view  this  as  seizing  the  rights  of  the  States,  and  con- 
solidating them  in  the  hands  of  the  general  government, 
with  a power  assumed  to  bind  the  States,  not  merely  in 
cases  made  federal,  but  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  by  laws 
made,  not  with  their  consent,  but  by  others  against  their 
consent ; that  this  would  be  to  surrender  the  form  of  gov- 
ernment we  have  chosen,  and  live  under  one  deriving  its 
powers  from  its  own  will,  and  not  from  our  authority  ; and 
that  the  co-States,  recurring  to  their  natural  rights  not 
made  federal,  will  concur  in  declaring  them  void  and  of  no 
force,  and  will  each  unite  with  this  commonwealth  in  re 
questing  their  repeal  at  the  next  session  of  Congress. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION 

In  December,  1818,  Congress  received  a petition  from  the 
legislature  of  the  territory  asking  admission  into  the  Union. 
On  the  19th  February,  1819,  while  the  bill  was  under  dis- 
cussion for  the  admission,  an  amendment  was  offered  “pro- 
viding that  the  further  introduction  of  slavery,  or  involun- 
tary servitude  be  prohibited  in  said  State.”  Adopted,  81 
to  16  votes  in  the  House.  Another  amendment,  “That  all 
children  born  in  said  State,  after  admission  thereof,  shall  be 
free  after  the  age  of  twenty-five  years.”  Adopted,  19  to  61. 
The  Senate  struck  out  this  amendment,  22  to  16.  Each 
House  adhered  obstinately  to  its  position  and  the  bill  was 
lost. 

At  the  next  session  Mr.  Taylor  of  New  York  offered  a 
resolution  raising  a committee  to  report  “ a bill  prohibiting 
the  further  admission  of  slaves  into  the  territory  west  of  the 
Mississippi.”  This  proposition  was  postponed.  In  the 
mean  time,  a bill  was  introduced  for  the  admission  of 
Maine  into  the  Union,  which  passed  the  House.  The 
Senate  tacked  a section  admitting  Missouri  to  the  Maine 
bill.  Ou  the  18th  January,  1820,  Mr.  Thomas  of  Illi- 
nois introduced  in  the  Senate  the  celebrated  slavery  re- 
striction, excluding  slavery  forever  from  all  territory  north 
of  86°  80'  north  latitude.  After  an  exciting  debate  it  was 
referred  to  a select  committee.  The  motion  to  exclude 
slavery  from  Missouri  was  lost  in  the  Senate,  16  to  21. 

On  the  ltth  February,  Mr.  Thomas’s  amendment,  ex- 
cluding slavery  from  the  territory  north  of  36°  30'  passed 

.195) 


196 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


the  Senate,  Ayes  34  ; Noes  10.  It  was  moved  in  the 
House  by  Mr.  Storrs  of  New  York.  The  bill  for  the  ad- 
mission of  both  Maine  and  Missouri,  with  the  restriction  of 
slavery  in  territories  West,  in  lieu  of  applying  it  to  the  State, 
then  passed  the  Senate.  Mr.  Macon  of  North  Carolina,  and 
Mr.  Smith  of  South  Carolina,  being  the  only  Southern 
Senators  that  voted  against  it.  The  House  subsequently 
agreed  to  the  Senate  bill  by  a vote  of  134  to  42,  and  thus 
ended  the  agitation  for  that  session.  The  restriction  thus 
engrafted  upon  the  territorial  law  was  repealed  in  the 
Kansas-Nebraska  Act  of  1854  ; but  was  not,  as  will  be 
seen,  and  as  has  been  generally  understood  by  the  people, 
a part  of  Mr.  Clay’s  Compromise,  by  which  Missouri  was 
finally  admitted  into  the  Union. 

At  the  session  of  1821,  Missouri  presented  her  Consti- 
tution to  Congress.  It  contained  a clause  excluding  free 
colored  people  from  the  State.  The  question  was  at  once 
raised,  that  her  Constitution  was  not  republican  in  form, 
as  required  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The 
Senate  voted  to  admit  and  the  House  refused.  Committees 
of  conference  were  appointed,  of  which  Mr.  Clay  was  chair- 
man in  the  House,  and  Mr.  Holmes  of  Maine,  in  the 
Senate.  On  the  26th  of  February,  1821,  Mr.  Clay,  from 
the  Joint  Committee,  reported  a resolution  for  the  admis- 
sion of  Missouri,  upon  condition  that  the  clause  in  her  Con- 
stitution prohibiting  free  negroes  from  coming  into  or  re- 
maining in  the  State,  should  never  be  construed  to  autho- 
rize the  passage  of  any  law  by  which  any  citizen  of  any 
other  State  should  be  excluded  from  any  privileges  to  which 
such  citizen  is  entitled  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  This  resolution  passed  the  House  the  same  day  by 
a vote  of  81  to  31. 

The  resolution  was  called  up  in  the  Senate  on  the  27th, 
and  finally  passed  in  that  body  on  the  28th  of  February, 
1821,  by  a vote  of  28  to  14.  Missouri  accepted  the  con- 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


197 


dition  imposed  by  the  resolution  of  Mr.  Clay,  and  on  the 
10th  of  August,  1821,  President  Monroe  issued  his  procla- 
mation declaring  the  admission  of  Missouri  complete  ac- 
cording to  law.  This  resolution  of  Mr.  Clay  was,  properly 
speaking,  the  Missouri  Compromise,  and  of  itself  had 
nothing  to  do,  whatever,  with  the  question  of  slavery  in 
the  territories.  That  question  had  been  settled  nearly  a 
year  prior  to  the  passage  of  this  resolution,  under  which 
that  State  became  a member  of  the  coufederacy. 

For  the  purpose  of  showing  what  the  doctrine  of  the 
Southern  States,  and  of  that  party  in  the  North  that  acted 
with  the  South  in  that  struggle,  was  upon  the  subject  of 
the  power  of  Congress  to  restrict  slavery  in  the  territories, 
we  make  the  following  extracts  from  the  speeches  of  those 
most  prominent  in  that  debate,  North  and  South.  The 
reader  will  of  course  understand,  that  those  who  advocated 
the  power  of  restriction  in  Congress,  used,  necessarily,  the 
same  arguments  that  are  used  at  the  present  time  upon  that 
subject.  It  is  only  in  reference  to  what  was,  at  that  time, 
claimed  as  the  national  view  of  the  slavery  question,  that 
we  compile  this  chapter ; and,  in  compiling  it,  we  have 
sought  to  give  the  opinion  of  those  who,  from  their  position 
and  talents,  may  be  fairly  supposed  to  have  reflected  that 
view  at  that  day.  Some  of  the  extracts  refer  to  the  State 
restriction,  which  was  abandoned,  but  most  are  upon  the 
amendment  of  Mr.  Thomas,  of  the  Senate,  introduced  in 
the  House  by  Mr.  Storrs,  of  New  York,  involving  the  con- 
stitutional power  of  Congress  to  prohibit  slavery  in  the 
territories.  This  was  the  first  debate  ever  had  in  Congress 
upon  the  subject. 

January  2G,  1821.  The  Bill  for  the  admission  of  Mis- 
souri into  the  Union  being  under  consideration,  Mr.  Storrs, 
of  New  York,  offered  the  following  proviso  : 

“And  provided  further,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted,  That, 
forever  hereafter,  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude. 


198 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


(except  in  the  punishment  of  crimes,  whereof  the  party 
shall  have  been  duly  convicted,)  shall  exist  in  the  territory 
of  the  Uuited  States,  lying  north  :>f  the  38th  degree  of 
north  latitude,  and  west  of  the  river  Mississippi,  and  the 
boundaries  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  as  established  by  this 
act : Provided,  That  any  person  escaping  into  the  said 
territory,  from  whom  labor  or  service  is  lawfully  claimed,  in 
any  of  the  States,  such  fugitive  may  be  lawfully  reclaimed, 
and  conveyed,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
in  such  case  provided,  to  the  person  claiming  his  or  her 
labor  or  service  as  aforesaid.” 

Mr.  Meigs,  of  New  York,  said  : — It  is  now  at  least 
twenty  years,  that  I have,  with  some  pain  and  apprehension, 
remarked  the  increasing  spirit  of  local  and  sectional  envy 
and  dislike  between  the  North  and  South.  A continued 
series  of  sarcasms  upon  each  other’s  circumstances,  modes  of 
living,  and  manners,  so  foolishly  persevered  in,  has  produced 
at  length  that  keen  controversy  which  now  enlists  us  in  masses 
against  each  other  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  line  of  latitude. 

Gentlemen  may  dignify  it  by  whatever  titles  they  please. 
They  may  flatter  themselves  that  all  is  logic,  reason,  pure 
reason.  But  certain  I am,  that  it  is  neither  more  nor  less 
than  sectional  feeling. 

Feeling,  sir,  however  gravely  dignified,  has  brought  us  in 
hostility  to  this  singular  line  of  combat,  and  we,  who  are, 
you  know  sir,  “but  children  of  a larger  growth,”  are  now 
most  aptly  comparable  to  those  celebrated  and  eternal 
factions  of  “Up -Town  and  Down -Town  Boys.”  I put 
this  observation  to  every  one  who  hears  me,  with  the  wish 
that  he  may  apply  his  own  recollections  and  reflections 
to  it. 

Gentlemen  may  exhaust  all  their  arguments,  all  their 
eloquence  npon  the  question  before  us  ; they  may  pour  out 
every  flower  of  rhetoric  upon  it ; but,  sir,  I view  their 
labors  as  wholly  vain,  and  I fear  that  their  flowers  will  be 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION". 


199 


found  to  be  the  most  deleterious  and  the  most  poisonous  in 
the  whole  range  of  botany.  They  poison  the  national 
affection. 

Keason  divided  by  parallels  of  latitude ! Why,  sir,  it  is 
easy  for  prejudice  and  malevolence,  by  aid  of  ingenuity,  to 
erect  an  eternal,  impenetrable  wall  of  brass  between  the 
North  and  South,  at  the  latitude  of  thirty-nine  degrees  ! 
But,  in  the  view  of  reason,  there  is  no  other  line  between 
them  than  that  celestial  arc  of  thirty-nine  degrees  which 
offers  no  barrier  to  the  march  of  liberal  and  rational  men. 

It  is  forgotten  that  the  enlightened  high  priest,  the 
archbishop  of  one  belligerent,  goes  to  the  temple  of  the 
Almighty  and  chants  “ Te  Deum  laudamus ,”  for  the  vic- 
tory obtained  by  his  country,  with  carnage  and  devastation, 
over  the  enemy  ; while  the  archbishop  of  another  bellige- 
rent is  at  the  same  time  entering  the  house  of  God,  aud 
singing  also,  “ Te  Deum  laudamus  pro  victoria ,”  upon 
the  other  side  of  the  line,  the  creek,  or  the  river  ? We, 
who  know  these  things,  should  profit  by  our  knowledge, 
learn  liberality,  and  practice  it.  It  is  true,  and  I glory  in 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  that  in  matters  of  religion,  this 
country  has,  in  its  constitutions,  attained  a high  poiut  of 
reason  and  liberality. 

Men,  after  forty  or  sixty  years  of  religious  intolerance, 
here,  at  last,  may  worship  the  Creator  in  their  own  way. 
What  a privilege  I how  dearly  acquired  I how  much  to  be 
prized  ! It  fills  us  with  astonishment,  when  we  reflect  how 
hard  it  is  for  us  to  refrain  from  forcing  by  power  our 
opinions  upon  our  brother  men  ! how  readily  each  indivi- 
dual imagines  that  the  light  is  alone  in  his  own  breast,  and 
how  enthusiastically  he  engages  in  propagating  it  among 
mankind  by  all  possible  means,  fancying,  dreaming  that  he 
is  a prophet,  a vicegerent  of  Almighty  God. 

January  21,  1830.  Mr.  Holmes,  of  Massachusetts,  rose 
and  spoke  as  follows  : — Mr.  Chairman  : When  a man  is 


200 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


fallen  into  distress,  his  neighbors  surround  him  to  offer  re- 
lief. Some,  by  an  attempt  at  condolence,  increase  the  grief 
which  they  would  assuage ; others,  by  administering  reme- 
dies, inflame  the  disorder;  while  others,  affecting  all  the 
solicitude  of  both,  actually  wish  him  dead.  It  is  so  with 
liberty.  Always  in  danger — often  in  distress — she  not  only 
suffers  from  open  and  secret  foes,  but  officious  and  unskillful 
friends.  And  among  the  thousands  and  millions  that  throng 
her  temple  from  curiosity  or  policy,  how  few — very  few — 
there  are,  who  are  her  sincere,  faithful,  and  intelligent  wor- 
shipers ? Among  these  few,  I trust,  are  to  be  found  all 
the  advocates  for  restriction  in  this  House.  And  I readily 
admit,  that  most  of  those  out  of  doors,  whose  zeal  is  excited 
on  this  occasion,  are  of  the  same  description. 

But  is  it  not  probable  that  there  are  some  jugglers  behind 
the  screen  who  are  playing  a deeper  game — who  are  com- 
bining to  rally  under  this  standard,  as  the  last  resort,  the 
forlorn  hope  of  an  expiring  party.  But  while  we  admit 
this  in  behalf  of  the  respectable  gentlemen  who  advocate  the 
restriction  of  slavery  in  Missouri,  we  ask,  may  we  demand 
of  them  the  same  liberality.  We  are  not  the  advocates  or 
the  abettors  of  slavery. 

For  one,  sir,  I would  rejoice  if  there  was  not  a slave  on 
earth.  Liberty  is  the  object  of  my  love — my  adoration.  I 
would  extend  its  blessings  to  every  human  being.  But, 
though  my  feelings  are  strong  for  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
they  are  yet  stronger  for  the  Constitution  of  my  country. 
And,  if  I am  reduced  to  the  sad  alternative  to  tolerate  the 
holding  of  slaves  in  Missouri  or  violate  the  Constitution  of 
my  country,  I will  not  admit  a doubt  to  cloud  my  choice. 

Sir,  of  what  benefit  would  be  abolition,  if  at  a sacrifice 
of  your  Constitution  ? Where  would  be  the  guarantee  of 
the  liberty  which  you  grant  ? Liberty  has  a temple  her*, 
and  it  is  the  only  one  which  remains.  Destroy  this,  and  s*-* 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


201 


must  flee — she  must  retire  among  the  brutes  of  the  wilder- 
ness  to  mourn  and  lament  the  misery  and  folly  of  man. 

The  proposition  for  the  consideration  of  the  committee  is, 
to  abolish  shivery  in  Missouri,  as  a condition  of  her  admis- 
sion into  the  Union. 

This  Constitution,  which  I hold  in  my  hand,  I am  sworn 
to  support,  not  according  to  legislative  or  judicial  exposi- 
tion, but  as  I shall  understand  it ; not  as  private  interest  or 
public  zeal  may  urge,  but  as  I shall  believe  ; not  as  I may 
wish  it,  but  as  it  is. 

I have  carefully  examined  this  Constitution,  and  I can 
find  no  such  powrer.  I have  looked  it  through,  and  I am 
certain  it  is  not  in  the  book. 

This  power  is  not  express,  and  if  given  at  all,  it  must  be 
constructive. 

This  amplifying  power  by  construction  is  dangerous,  and 
will,  not  improbably,  effect  the  eventual  destruction  of  the 
Constitution.  ♦ 

That  there  are  resulting  or  implied  poivers,  I am  not  dis- 
posed to  deny  ; but  they  are  only  where  the  powers  are 
subordinate  and  the  implication  necessary. 

All  powers  not  granted  are  prohibited,  is  a maxim  to 
which  we  cannot  too  religiously  adhere. 

* * * * * * 

How  comes  it  that  Congress  can  prohibit  a transfer  of  a 
slave  from  one  State  to  another,  and  under  this  power  to 
regulate  commerce,  when  they  are  expressly  forbidden  to 
compel  a vessel  bound  from  one  State  to  enter,  clear,  nor  pay 
duties,  in  that  of  another  ? If  Congress  has  this  power 
under  this  clause  in  the  Constitution,  then  slaves  are  to  be 
prohibited  as  commerce. 

And,  sir,  where  is  the  authority  to  prohibit  the  transfer 
of  an  article  of  commerce  from  State  to  State  ? A man 
leaves  a State  to  go  into  another  with  his  family,  slaves, 
cattle,  and  implements  of  husbandry,  to  clear  up  and  cult! 


202 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


vate  a farm  or  plantation.  His  object  is  exclusively  agri- 
cultural. He  is  met  at  the  line  by  a law  of  Congress,  and 
bis  slaves  are  stopped  under  the  authority  to  regulate 
commerce  I 

When  under  this  power,  you  shall  have  succeded  in 
proving  the  extravagant  and  untenable  position  that  Con- 
gress can  prohibit  this  transfer,  how  do  you  arrive  at  the 
conclusion,  that  you  can  pass  this  act  of  abolition  which  the 
amendment  proposes  ? 

There  are  two  powers  grown  out  of  that  to  regulate  com- 
merce. And  preserve  your  gravity  while  I repeat,  one  of 
them  is  to  prohibit  a transfer  of  slaves  from  State  to  State, 
and  the  other  to  abolish  slavery  in  Missouri,  as  a condition 
of  her  admission  into  the  Union. 

* * * * * * 

Sir,  I trust  enough  has  been  said  to  prove  that  this  clause 
gives  no  authority  to  prohibit  a transfer  of  slaves  from  one 
State  to  another;  and  if  it  did,  it  has  notlrtng  to  do  with 
the  question.  Sir,  it  is  a new  doctrine,  and  allow  me  to 
add,  it  is  an  alarming  doctrine.  Let  me  ask  the  gentleman 
from  New  York  a question,  and  I will  do  it  with  that  con- 
fidence which  friendship  inspires.  With  the  suggestion  that 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  is  an  act  of  general  eman- 
cipation, and  with  this  doctrine,  that  Congress  may  confine 
the  slaves  within  the  limits  of  the  respective  States,  let  the 
four  hundred  thousand  slaves  of  Virginia  be  transferred  to 
New  York,  and  what  would  be  his  feelings?  [Here  Mr. 
Taylor  rose,  and  disclaimed  having  advanced  that  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  had  any  effect  to  emancipate 
the  slaves.] 

Sir,  I have  not  said  that  that  gentleman  did  advance 
6uch  a doctrine. 

I stated  that  such  an  opinion  had  been  advanced,  and 
from  high  authority. 

And  I again  appeal  to  the  candor  of  that  gentleman, 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


203 


and  ask  him  whether  he  should  feel  entirely  easy  if  the  slaves 
of  Virginia  were  shut  up  in  New  York,  under  this  power 
which  he  advocates,  and  if  it  had  come  to  their  ears  from 
any  respectable  source  that  they  were  all  free  ? 

Would  he  not  be  inclined  to  doubt  the  constitutionality 
or  policy  of  such  a law  ? 

Confine  the  slaves  in  the  old  slaveholding  States,  where 
they  are  most  numerous ; the  constant  emigration  of  the 
whites  will  soon  bring  them  to  an  equality  with  their  slaves. 
Emigration  will  increase  with  the  danger,  and  murder  and 
massacre  will  succeed. 

And  yet,  we  can  look  on  and  see  this  storm  gathering — 
hear  its  thunders,  and  witness  its  lightnings,  with  great 
composure,  with  wonderful  philosophy  ! 

We  are  aware,  gentlemen,  that  we  are  diffusing  senti- 
ments which  endanger  your  safety,  happiness,  and  lives  ; 
nay,  more,  the  safety,  happiness,  and  lives  of  those  whom 
you  value  more  than  your  own. 

But  it  is  a constitutional  question. 

Keep  cool.  We  are  conscious  that  we  are  inculcating 
doctrines  that  will  result  in  spilling  the  best  of  your  blood, 
but  as  this  blood  will  be  spilled  in  the  cause  of  humanity, 
keep  cool. 

We  have  no  doubt  that  the  promulgating  of  these  prin- 
ciples will  be  the  means  of  cutting  your  throats;  but,  as  it 
will  be  done  in  the  most  unexceptionable  manner  possible,  by 
your  slaves,  who  will  no  doubt  perform  the  task  in  great 
style  and  dexterity,  and  with  much  delicacy  and  humanity, 
too,  therefore  keep  cool. 

Sir,  speak  to  the  wind,  command  the  waves,  expostulate 
with  the  tempest,  rebuke  the  thunder,  but  never  ask  an 
honorable  man  thus  circumstanced  to  suppress  his  feelings. 

But,  sir,  I beg  pardon  for  this  digression;  it  is  aside 
from  my  purpose. 

My  object  is  not  declamation,  but  reason. 


204 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


January  28. — Mr.  Smyth,  of  Virginia,  addressed  the  Chair. 
He  said  that  the  constitutionality  of  the  measure  proposed 
was  the  subject  which  he  intended  first  to  consider.  The  legis- 
lative power  of  every  State  is  originally  co-extensive.  Each 
State,  by  the  Constitution,  commits  an  equal  portion  of  its 
legislative  powers  to  Congress,  and  all  the  residue  is  re- 
served to  the  States,  unless  prohibited  to  them  or  to  the 
people.  The  only  powers  of  this  government  are  given  by 
the  Constitution. 

The  powers  granted  are  to  be  exercised  over  every  State  ; 
and  the  powers  reserved  are  retained  by  every  State. 

In  Pennsylvania  and  in  Virginia,  the  power  to  legislate 
respecting  slavery  is  in  the  legislature.  In  Ohio  and  Indi- 
ana that  power  is  in  the  people,  who  have  denied  it  to  their 
legislatures.  No  power  has  been  delegated  to  Congress  to 
legislate  on  that  subject. 

The  Constitution  provides  that,  “the  powers  not  dele- 
gated to  the  Uuited  States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  pro- 
hibited by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  re- 
spectively, or  to  the  people.”  The  powers  not  delegated 
being  reserved  to  the  States,  respectively,  are  reserved  to 
each  of  the  States,  whether  new  or  old. 

Has  the  power  to  legislate  over  slavery  been  delegated 
to  the  United  States?  It  has  not. 

Has  it  been  prohibited  to  the  States  ? It  has  not. 

Then  it  is  reserved  to  the  States  respectively,  or  to  the 
people.  Consequently,  it  is  reserved  to  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri, or  to  the  people  of  that  State.  And  any  attempt  by 
Congress  to  deprive  them  of  this  reserved  power,  will  be 
unjust,  tyrannical,  unconstitutional,  and  void. 

The  only  condition  that  may  constitutionally  be  annexed 
to  the  admission  of  a new  State  into  this  Union  is  that  its 
constitution  shall  be  republican. 

This  the  Constitution  authorizes  us  to  require,  and  it  is 
the  only  condition  that  is  necessary.  We  possess  power  t<? 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


205 


make  all  needful  regulations  respecting  the  territorial  pro- 
perty of  the  United  States. 

Our  acts  in  pursuance  of  the  Constitution  are  paramount 
to  the  laws  of  any  State. 

When  we  pursue  our  constitutional  authority,  we  need  no 
aid  from  stipulations  ; and  when  we  exceed  it,  our  acts  are 
acts  of  usurpation,  and  void. 

It  has  been  questioned  by  some,  whether  a constitu- 
tion can  be  said  to  be  republican  which  does  not  exclude 
slavery. 

But  we  must  understand  the  phrase  “ republican  form  of 
government,”  as  the  people  understood  it  when  they  adopted 
the  Constitution.  We  are  bound  by  the  construction  which 
was  put  upon  the  Constitution  by  the  people.  It  would 
be  perfidious  toward  them  to  put  on  the  Constitution  a 
different  construction  from  that  which  induced  them  to 
adopt  it. 

The  people  of  each  of  the  States  who  adopted  the  Con- 
stitution, except  Massachusetts,  owned  slaves,  yet  they  cer- 
tainly considered  their  own  constitutions  to  be  republican. 

And  the  federal  government  has  not,  by  virtue  of  its 
power  to  guarantee  a republican  constitution  to  each  State 
in  the  union,  required  a change  of  the  constitution  of  any 
one  of  those  States. 

The  Constitution  recognizes  the  right  to  the  slave  pro- 
perty, and  it  thereby  appears  that  it  was  intended  by  the 
Convention  and  by  the  people  that  that  property  should  be 
secure. 

The  representation  of  each  State  in  this  House  is  propor- 
tioned by  the  whole  number  of  free  persons  and  three-fifths 
of  the  number  of  the  slaves.  In  forming  the  Constitution, 
the  Southern  States,  Virginia  excepted,  insisted  on  and 
obtained  a provision,  authorizing  them  to  import  slaves  for 
twenty  years. 

And  the  Constitution  provides  that  slaves  running  away 


206 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


from  their  masters  in  one  State  and  going  into  another, 
shall  be  delivered  up  to  their  masters. 
*****  * 

To  render  this  right,  with  other  rights,  still  more  secure, 
Virginia,  in  adopting  the  Constitution,  declared  that  “no 
right  of  any  denomination  can  be  canceled,  abridged,  re- 
strained, or  modified,  except  in  those  instances  in  which 
power  is  given  by  the  Constitution  for  those  purposes 
and  New  York  declared  that  “ every  power,  jurisdiction, 
and  right,  which  is  not  by  the  said  Constitution  clearly 
delegated  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  remains  to 
the  people  of  the  several  States,  or  to  their  respective  State 
governments.”  Several  of  the  other  States  made  similar 
declarations. 

But  the  States  were  not  content  to  declare  their  rights. 
An  amendment  to  the  Constitution  declares  that,  “ The 
powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Consti- 
tution, nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to 
the  States  respectively,  or  to  the  people.”  The  right  to 
own  slaves  being  acknowledged  and  secured  by  the  Con- 
stitution, can  you  proscribe  what  the  Constitution  guaran- 
tees ? Can  you  touch  a right  reserved  to  the  States  or 
the  people  ? You  cannot  I 

* * 

If  you  possessed  power  to  legislate  concerning  slavery, 
the  adoption  of  the  proposition  on  your  table,  which  goes 
to  emancipate  all  children  of  slaves  hereafter  born  in  Mis- 
souri, would  be  a direct  violation  of  the  Constitution,  which 
provides  that  “no  person  shall  be  deprived  of  property 
without  due  process  of  law  ; nor  shall  private  property  be 
taken  for  public  use,  without  just  compensation.” 

If  you  cannot  take  property  even  for  public  use,  without 
just  compensation,  you  certainly  have  not  power  to  take  it 
away  for  the  purpose  of  annihilation,  without  compensa- 
tion. And  if  you  cannot  take  away  that  which  is  in  exis- 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


207 


tence,  you  cannot  take  away  that  which  will  come  into  exis- 
tence hereafter.  If  you  cannot  take  away  the  land,  you 
cannot  take  the  future  crops ; and  if  you  cannot  take  the 
slaves,  you  cannot  take  their  issue,  who,  by  the  laws  of 
slavery,  will  be  also  slaves.  You  cannot  force  the  people 
to  give  up  their  property.  You  cannot  force  a portion  of 
the  people  to  emancipate  their  slaves. 

* * * * * * 

All  legitimate  power  proceeds  from  the  people.  And 
although  an  illegitimate  power  may  be  imposed  by  force  and 
submitted  to  from  necessity,  it  cannot  bind  the  people 
longer  than  the  force  and  necessity  are  present.  Such  was 
the  power  which  the  British  Parliament  exercised  before 
the  Revolution  over  these  then  colonies  ; and  such  was  the 
power  asserted  by  the  Congress  of  1781  over  the  North- 
western territory. 

But,  as  the  declaration  of  the  British  Parliament,  that 
they  had  power  to  bind  the  colonies  iu  all  cases  whatsoever, 
does  not  bind  the  people  of  these  States  ; so  the  Ordinance 
of  1787  does  not  bind  the  people  of  Ohio  any  longer  than 
they  please  to  submit  to  it. 

It  was  an  act  of  illegitimate  power;  and  it  cannot  bind 
those  who  are  the  source  of  all  legitimate  power. 

It  is  even  doubtful  whether  the  Ordinance  was  duly 
passed.  By  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  the  concurrence 
of  nine  States  was  necessary  to  important  transactions. 
The  power  exercised  was  not  given  ; and  of  the  powers 
which  were  given,  those  of  making  appropriations  and 
treaties  most  resemble  the  power  exercised.  It  was  neces- 
sary that  nine  States  should  concur  in  exercising  either  of 
these  powers.  Only  eight  States  were  present  and  concui- 
ing  in  passing  this  Ordinance. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  restriction  on  the  introduction 
of  slavery  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river  was  proposed  by 
Virginia,  and  that  the  Southern  States  unanimously  agreed 


208 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


to  it.  This  is  said  to  fix  the  character  of  inconsistency  on 
Virginia.  The  fact  is,  that  Virginia  and  the  Southern 
States  voted  for  the  whole  ordinance,  when  completed  -t  but 
it  is  also  true  that  those  States  had  repeatedly  voted  against 
the  clause  excluding  slavery.  In  April,  1784,  a vote  was 
taken  on  this  clause,  when  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  South 
Carolina  voted  against  it;  North  Carolina  divided,  and 
Georgia  absent.  And  although  seven  States  voted  for  the 
clause,  it  was  rejected ; a proof  that  Congress  then  con- 
ceived that  the  concurrence  of  nine  States  was  necessary  to 
every  clause  of  this  Ordinance  ; which  they  called  a “com- 
pact.” 

In  March,  1785,  Mr.  King  proposed  a similar  clause; 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia, 
voted  against  it ; eight  States  voted  for  the  commitment  of 
it,  and  it  was  committed.  The  member  from  Virginia, 
(Mr.  Grayson,)  to  whom  the  measure  is  ascribed,  was  not 
a member  of  Congress  in  1784. 

My  honorable  friend  from  Massachusetts  (Mr.  Holmes) 
was  mistaken,  when  he  supposed  that  Congress  of  1787, 
was  bound  by  the  Ordinance  of  1784,  which  did  not  ex- 
clude slavery  from  the  Northwestern  Territory. 

They  would  have  been  bound,  had  any  part  of  the  land 
m Ohio  been  sold,  not  to  change  the  Ordinance  of  1784, 
without  the  consent  of  Ohio.  But  no  point  of  the  land  was 
sold,  previous  to  the  passage  of  the  Ordinance  on  the  13th 
July,  1787. 

I have  examined  that  matter  carefully,  and  am  unwilling 
that  the  committee  should  be  under  any  erroneous  impressions 
that  I can  remove. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Constitution  vests  in  Congress 
a power  to  make  all  needful  regulations  respecting  the  ter- 
ritory of  the  United  States;  and  this  power,  it  is  supposed 
authorizes  us  to  exclude  slaves  from  the  territories  of  the 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


209 


United  States,  and  also  to  demand  from  any  of  those  ter- 
ritories about  to  become  States,  a stipulation  for  the  ex- 
clusion of  slaves. 

The  clause  of  the  Constitution  referred  to,  reads  thus  : 
“ The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of,  and  make 
all  needful  rules  aud  regulations  respecting,  the  territory 
or  other  property  belonging  to  the  United  States.”  It  has 
been  contended  that  this  gives  a power  of  legislation  over 
persons  and  private  property  within  the  territories  of  the 
United  States. 

The  clause  obviously  relates  to  the  territory  belonging  to 
the  United  States,  as  property  only.  The  power  given  is 
to  dispose  of,  and  make  all  needful  regulations  respecting, 
the  territorial  property,  or  other  property  of  the  United 
States  ; and  Congress  has  powrnr  to  pass  all  laws  neces- 
sary and  proper  to  the  exercise  of  that  power.  This  clause 
speaks  of  the  territory  as  property,  as  a subject  of  sale. 
It  speaks  not  of  the  jurisdiction. 

This  clause,  as  first  proposed  in  Convention,  read  thus  : 
“To  dispose  of  the  unappropriated  lands  of  the  United 
States ; to  institute  temporary  governments  for  new  States 
arising  therein.”  The  latter  power  was  not  granted.  (See 
Journal  Convention,  page  260.) 

That  the  Convention  considered  as  being  provided  for  by 
the  Ordinance  of  Congress.  This  clause  contains  no  grant 
of  power  to  legislate  over  persons  and  private  property 
within  a territory. 

A power  to  dispose  of,  and  make  all  needful  regulations 
respecting  the  property  of  the  United  States,  is  very  dif- 
ferent from  a power  to  legislate  over  the  persons  and  the 
property  of  the  people.  When  it  was  the  intention  of  the 
Convention  that  the  Constitution  should  convey  to  Congress 
power  to  legislate  over  persons  and  private  property,  they 
expressed  themselves  in  terms  not  doubtful. 

14 


210 


THE  HISSOD  .rtl  QUESTION. 


Thus  they  said,  “Congress  shall  have  power  to  exercise 
exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever,”  within  the 
ten  miles  square. 

But  no  such  power  to  legislate  over  the  territories  is 
granted. 

The  power  is,  to  dispose  of,  and  make  all  needful  regula- 
tions respecting  the  property  of  the  United  States. 

When  that  is  sold  and  conveyed,  it  ceases  to  be  an  object 
of  the  power  to  make  regulations  respecting  the  property 
of  United  States;  and  if  the  construction  contended  for  by 
our  opponents  be  correct,  and  Congress  possesses  power  to 
legislate  for  a territory,  that  would  not  authorize  them  to 
make  regulations  which  shall  continue  in  force  when  the  ter- 
ritory became  a State,  and  the  United  States  ceased  to  own 
property  therein. 

* * * * * * * 

Suppose  that  a general  emancipation  was  to  take  place, 
and  the  two  people  were  to  co-mingle,  what  would  be  the 
effect  on  the  character  of  your  country  throughout  the 
civilized  world  ? Would  you  be  willing  that  your  nation 
should  become  a nation  of  mulattoes,  and  be  considered  on 
a level  with  Hayti  ? Are  the  two  races  equal  ? If  so, 
how  is  it  that  that  the  race  of  whites  has  produced  so 
many  civilized  nations  in  ancient  and  modern  times,  and  the 
race  of  African  negroes  not  one. 

* * * * * * * 

As  the  emancipation  of  the  present  race  of  blacks  in  this 
country  cannot  be  effected,  the  tendency  of  the  popular 
meetings,  resolutions,  pamphlets,  and  newspaper  publica- 
tions, respecting  this  question,  merit  notice  and  exposition. 
The  philosophers  the  abolition  societies,  and  societies  of 
friends  to  the  negroes,  in  Europe,  who  were  not  at  all  inter- 
ested in  negro  slavery  themselves,  produced  the  catastrophe 
of  St.  Domingo.  The  philanthropists,  societies,  and  popular 
meetings  of  the  North,  are  pursuing  a similar  course. 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


211 


Like  causes  produce  like  effects. 

Our  philanthropists  may  acquire  as  good  a title  to  the 
execrations  of  the  Southern  people  as  Robespierre  and 
Gregoire  acquired  to  the  execrations  of  the  French  people 
of  St.  Domingo. 

February  1.  Mr.  Reid,  of  Georgia,  said  : Sir,  the 
slaves  of  the  South  are  held  to  a service  which,  unlike  that 
of  the  ancient  villain,  is  certain  and  moderate. 

They  are  well  supplied  with  food  and  raiment. 

They  are  “content  and  careless  of  to-morrow's  fare.” 

The  lights  of  our  religion  shine  as  well  for  them  as  for 
their  masters ; and  their  rights  of  personal  security,  guar- 
anteed by  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  are  vigilantly  pro- 
tected by  the  courts.  It  is  true,  they  are  often  made  sub- 
1 ject  to  wanton  acts  of  tyranny ; but  this  is  not  their  pecu- 
liar misfortune  ! For,  search  the  catalogue  of  crimes,  and 
you  will  find  that  man — the  tyrant — is  continually  preying 
upon  his  fellow-men  ; there  are  as  many  white  as  black  vic- 
tims to  the  vengeful  passion  and  the  lust  of  power!  Be- 
lieve me,  sir,  I am  not  the  panegyrist  of  slavery.  It  is  an 
unnatural  state  ; a dark  cloud  which  obscures  half  the  lustre 
of  our  free  institutions  ! But  it  is  a fixed  evil,  which  we 
can  only  alleviate. 

Are  we  called  upon  to  emancipate  our  slaves  ? I an- 
swer, their  welfare,  the  safety  of  our  citizens,  forbid  it.  Can 
we  incorporate  them  with  us,  and  make  them  and  us  one 
people  ? The  prejudices  of  the  North  and  of  the  South 
rise  up  in  equal  strength  against  such  a measure  ; and  even 
those  who  clamor  most  loudly  for  the  sublime  doctrines  of 
your  Declaration  of  Independence,  who  shout  in  your  ears 
“ all  men  are  by  nature  equal,”  would  turn  with  abhorrence 
and  disgust  from  a parti-colored  progeny  ! Shall  we  then 
be  blamed  for  a state  of  things  to  which  we  are  obliged  to 
submit?  Would  it  be  fair,  would  it  be  manly,  would  it  be 
generous,  would  it  be  just,  to  offer  contumely  and  contempt 


212 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


to  the  unfortunate  man  who  wears  a cancer  in  his  bosom, 
because  he  will  not  submit  to  cautery  at  the  hazard  of  his 
existence  ? For  my  own  part,  surrounded  by  slavery  from 
my  cradle  to  the  present  moment,  I yet 

“Hate  the  touch  of  servile  hands  ; 

I loathe  the  slaves  who  cringe  around 

and  I would  hail  that  day  as  the  most  glorious  in  its  dawn- 
ing which  should  behold,  with  safety  to  themselves  and  our 
citizens,  the  black  population  of  the  United  States  placed 
upon  the  high  eminence  of  equal  rights,  and  clothed  in  the 
privileges  and  immunities  of  American  citizens!  But  this 
is  a dream  of  philanthropy  which  can  never  be  fulfilled  ; 
and  whoever  shall  act  in  this  country  upon  such  wild  theo-t 
ries,  shall  cease  to  be  a beuefactor,  and  become  a destroyer 
of  the  human  family. 

It  is. said,  however,  to  be  high  time  to  check  the  progress 
of  this  evil,  and  that  this  may  be  best  done  by  inhibiting 
slavery  beyond  the  Mississippi,  and  in  Missouri,  which 
prays  to  be  admitted  as  a State  into  the  Union.  It  is  im- 
portant to  consider  if  this  project  be  consistent  with  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

The  States  formed  the  Constitution  in  the  capacity  of 
sovereign  and  independent  States,  and  the  Constitution  is 
the  instrument  by  which  they  conveyed  certain  power  to  the 
general  government.  This  is  evident,  not  only  from  the 
nature  of  the  government  formed,  and  in  every  line  of  the 
Constitution,  but  it  is  a doctrine  distinctly  asserted  in  the 
ninth  and  tenth  articles  of  the  amendments.  “The  enume- 
ration, in  the  Constitution,  of  certain  rights  shall  not  be 
construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the 
people ; and  the  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United 
States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the 
States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respectively,  or  to  the 
people.”  Hence  it  will  follow,  that  the  several  States  re- 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


213 


tain  every  power  not  delegated  by  the  Constitution  to  the 
general  government ; or,  in  other  words,  that  in  all  enume- 
rated cases,  the  several  States  are  left  in  the  full  enjoyment 
of  their  sovereign  and  independent  jurisdictions. 
******** 

But  it  is  argued  that  Congress  has  ever  imposed  restric- 
tions upon  new  States,  and  no  objection  has  been  urged 
until  this  moment. 

If  it  be  true,  that  only  one  condition  can  constitutionally 
be  imposed,  it  would  seem  that  any  other  is  null  and  void, 
and  may  be  thrown  off  by  the  State  at  pleasure. 

And  then  this  argument,  the  strength  of  which  is  in  prece- 
dent, cannot  avail. 

Uniformity  of  decision  for  hundreds  of  years  cannot  make 
that  right  which  at  first  was  wrong. 

If  it  were  otherwise,  in  vain  would  science  and  the  arts 
pursue  their  march  toward  perfection  ; in  vain  the  constant 
progress  of  truth ; in  vain  the  new  and  bright  lights  which 
are  daily  finding  their  way  to  the  human  mind,  like  the 
rays  of  the  distant  stars,  which,  passing  onward  from  the 
creation  of  time,  are  said  to  be  continually  reaching  our 
sphere. 

Malus  usus  abolendus  esL  When  error  appears,  let  her 
be  detected  and  exposed,  and  let  evil  precedents  be  abol- 
ished. 

It  is  true  that  the  old  Confederation,  by  the  6th  section 
of  the  Ordinance  of  1181,  inhibited  slavery  in  the  territory 
northwest  of  the  Ohio,  and  that  the  States  of  Illinois,  Ohio, 
and  Indiana,  have  been  introduced  into  the  Union  under 
this  restriction. 

Sir,  the  Ordinance  of  llST  had  an  origin  perfectly  worthy 
of  the  end  it  seems  destined  to  accomplish.  It  had  no  au- 
thority in  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  which  did  not 
contemplate,  with  the  exception  of  Canada,  the  acquisition 
of  territory. 


214 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


It  was  in  contradiction  of  the  resolution  of  1180,  by 
which  the  States  were  allured  to  cede  their  unlocated  lands 
to  the  Geueral  Government,  upon  the  condition  that  these 
should  constitute  several  States,  to  be  admitted  into  the 
Union  upon  an  equal  footing  with  the  original  States. 

It  is  in  fraud  of  the  acts  of  cession  by  which  the  States 
conveyed  territory  in  faith  of  the  resolution  of  1180.  And, 
when  recognized  by  acts  of  Congress,  and  applied  to  the 
States  formed  from  the  ’ territory  beyond  the  Ohio,  it  is  in 
violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

So  much  for  the  efficacy  of  the  precedent  which,  although 
binding  here,  is  not,  it  would  seem,  of  obligation  upon 
Ohio,  Indiana,  or  Illinois,  or,  if  you  impose  it,  upon  Mis- 
souri. It  is  not  the  force  of  your  legal  provisions  which 
attaches  the  restrictive  6th  article  of  the  ordinance  to  the 
States  I have  mentioned. 

It  is  the  moral  sentiment  of  the  inhabitants.  Impose  it 
upon  Missouri,  and  she  will  indignantly  throw  off  the  yoke 
and  laugh  you  to  scorn  ! You  will  then  discover  that  you 
have  assumed  a weapon  that  you  cannot  wield — the  bow 
of  Ulysses,  which  all  your  efforts  cannot  bend. 

The  open  and  voluntary  exposure  of  your  weakness  will 
make  you  not  only  the  object  of  derision  at  home,  but  a 
by-word  among  nations.  Can  there  be  a power  in  Con- 
gress to  do  that  which  the  object  of  the  power  may  right- 
fully destroy  ? Are  the  rights  of  Missouri  and  of  the  Union 
in  opposition  to  each  other  ? Can  it  be  possible  that  Con- 
gress has  authority  to  impose  a restriction  which  Missouri, 
by  an  alteration  of  her  Constitution,  may  abolish  ? Sir,  the 
course  we  are  pursuing  reminds  me  of  the  urchin  who,  with 
great  care  and  anxiety,  constructs  his  card  edifice,  which 
the  slightest  touch  may  demolish,  the  gentlest  breath*  dis- 
solve. 

But  let  us  stand  together  upor  the  basis  of  precedent; 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION! 


215 


aad  apon  that  ground  you  eaDnot  extend  this  restriction  to 
Missouri. 

Tou  have  imposed  it  upon  the  territory  beyond  the  Ohio, 
but  you  have  never  applied  it  elsewhere.  Tennessee,  Ver- 
mont, Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  and  Alabama,  have 
come  into  the  Union  without  being  required  to  submit  to 
the  condition  inhibiting  slavery;  nay,  whenever  the  Ordi- 
nance of  1187  has  been  applied  to  any  of  these  States,  the 
operation  of  the  6th  article  has  been  suspended  or  destroyed. 

According,  then,  to  the  uniform  tenor  of  the  precedent, 
let  the  States  to  be  formed  of  the  territory  without  the 
boundaries  of  the  territory  northwest  of  Ohio  remain  unre- 
stricted, and  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  fullness  of  their  rights. 

Thus,  it  appears  to  me,  the  power  you  seek  to  assume  is 
not  found  in  the  Constitution,  or  to  be  derived  from  prece- 
dent. 

Shall,  it,  then,  without  any  known  process  of  generation, 
spring  spontaneously  from  your  councils,  like  the  armed 
Minerva  from  the  brain  of  Jupiter?  The  goddess,  sir, 
although  of  wisdom,  was  also  the  inventress  of  war — and 
the  power  of  your  creation,  although  extensive  in  its  dimen- 
sions, and  ingenious  in  its  organization,  may  produce  the 
most  terrible  and  deplorable  effects. 

Assure  yourselves  you  have  not  authority  to  bind  a State 
coming  into  the  Union,  with  a single  hair  ! If  you  have, 
zou  may  rivet  a chain  upon  every  limb,  a fetter  upon  every 
oint. 

Where,  then,  I ask  is  the  independence  of  your  State 
^wernmeuts  ? Do  they  not  fall  prostrate,  debased,  covered 
' ~»h  sackloth  and  crowned  with  ashes,  before  the  gigantic 
M.'wer  of  the  Union?  They  will  no  longer,  sir,  resemble 
nlunets,  moving  in  order  around  a solar  centre,  receiving 
and  imparting  lustre.  They  will  dwindle  to  mere  satellites, 
or,  thrown  from  their  orbits,  they  will  wander  “like  stars 
condemned,  the  wrecks  of  worlds  demolished  !” 


216 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


But,  let  gentlemen  beware!  Assume  the  Mississippi  as 
the  boundary.  Say,  that  to  the  smiling  Canaan  beyond  its 
waters  no  slave  shall  approach,  and  you  give  a new  charac- 
ter to  its  inhabitants,  totally  distinct  from  that  which  shall 
belong  to  the  people  thronging  on  the  east  of  your  limits. 

You  implant  diversity  of  pursuits,  hostility  of  feeling, 
envy,  hatred,  and  bitter  reproaches,  which 

“ Shall  grow  to  clubs  and  naked  swords, 

To  murder  and  to  death.” 

If  you  remain  inexorable  ; if  you  persist  in  refusing  the 
humble,  the  decent,  the  reasonable  prayer  of  Missouri,  is 
there  no  danger  that  her  resistance  will  rise  in  proportion 
to  your  oppression  ? Sir,  the  firebrand,  which  is  even  now 
cast  into  your  society,  will  require  blood — ay,  and  the 
blood  of  freemen — for  its  quenching.  Your  TJnion  shall 
tremble,  as  under  the  force  of  an  earthquake ! While  you 
incautiously  pull  down  a constitutional  barrier,  you  make 
way  for  the  dark,  and  tumultuous,  and  overwhelming  waters 
of  desolation  ! If  you  “ sow  the  wind,  must  you  not  reap 
the  whirlwind  ?” 

February  25.  Mr.  Scott,  of  Missouri,  said  : The  pow- 
ers given  to  Congress  by  the  Constitution  were  few,  express, 
limited,  positive,  and  defined  ; the  majority  of  them  were  to 
be  found  in  the  eighth  section  of  that  instrument,  and  con- 
sisted in  the  authority  to  levy  taxes,  borrow  money,  and 
regulate  commerce ; establish  a uniform  system  of  bank- 
ruptcy; to  regulate  the  coin,  punish  counterfeiting,  establish 
post-offices  and  post-roads,  constitute  courts,  declare  war, 
raise  armies,  maintain  a navy,  call  forth  the  militia,  organize 
aud  regulate  them  ; to  have  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  their  forts,  magazines,  arsenals, 
doc':-yards,  and  to  make  all  laws  which  should  be  necessary 
and  proper  to  carry  into  effect  the  enumerated  powers.  Mr. 
S.  could  not  discover  that  the  authority  to  impose  restric- 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


217 


tions  on  States  could  be  derived  from  any  latitude  of  con- 
struction growing  out  of  this  section. 

But  the  powers  of  Congress  were  not  only  enumerated 
and  expressed  in  the  Constitution  ; the  tenth  section  was 
equally  explicit  in  declaring  of  what  attributes  of  sove- 
reignty the  States  should  be  deprived  ; no  State  was  to  enter 
into  any  treaty  of  alliance,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  re- 
prisal, coin  money,  emit  bills  of  credit,  make  anything  but 
gold  and  silver  a tender,  pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post 
facto  law,  impair  contracts,  or  grant  titles  of  nobility  ; nor, 
without  consent  of  Congress,  lay  imposts  or  duties  on  im- 
ports or  exports,  lay  any  duty  on  tonnage,  keep  troops  or 
ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  or  make  any  agreement  with 
any  foreign  power,  or  even  with  a sister  State,  or  engage  in 
war,  unless  actually  invaded. 

The  States,  then,  were  divested  by  the  Constitution  of 
no  portion  of  sovereignty  but  those  actually  named  and  vol- 
untarily surrendered  ; all  other  powers,  and  the  residue  of 
sovereignty,  were  inherent  in,  and  expressly  reserved  to, 
the  States  and  the  people. 

******** 

The  second  clause  of  the  third  section  of  the  fourth  article 
provided  that  “ Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of,  and 
make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  terri- 
tory or  other  property  of  the  United  States.” 

The  whole  context  of  this  article  showed  that  it  was  a3 
property,  and  not  otherwise,  that  Congress  were  to  make 
rules  and  regulations.  Certainly  the  boldest  advocate  for 
restriction  would  not  contend  that  .Congress  had  any  prop- 
erty in  the  persons  of  the  citizens  of  Missouri,  because  they 
were  circumstantially  connected  with  a territory  over  which 
they  had  a limited  control.  Surely  gentlemen  would  not 
undertake  to  advance  the  doctrine  that  Congress  had  any 
property  in  the  confirmed  lands  of  individuals,  or  in  the 
lands  purchased  of  the  government  and  patented  to  the  pur- 


218 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


chaser,  and  still  less  had  Congress  any  property  in  the  rights 
of  the  people. 

And  if  Congress  ever  had  the  power  contended  for,  while 
they  owned  the  land,  it  would  surely  cease  to  exist  so  soon 
as  they  parted  with  th  ; soil. 

The  sovereignty  of  Congress  over  the  territory,  as  the 
lords  paramount,  was  but  temporary,  and  could  only  endure 
so  long  as  they  l'eraiued  the  soil ; when  that  was  disposed 
of,  their  sovereignty  ceased  also. 

Yet,  by  virtue  of  this  brief  and  temporary  authority,  lim- 
ited in  its  extent,  and  short  in  its  duration,  Congress  were 
about  to  fix  on  Missouri  a never-ending  condition,  that  was 
to  continue  long  after  the  authority  on  which  it  rested  for 
existence,  had  passed  away. 

If,  in  consequence  of  owning  the  land,  Congress  possessed 
that  description  of  sovereignty  that  would  authorize  them 
to  legislate  in  regard  to  the  property  of  the  citizens  of  a 
Territory  or  a State,  or  to  dictate  what  kind  of  property 
the  citizens  should  introduce  and  hold,  then  might  they  at 
this  day  undertake  to  regulate  the  affairs  of  the  States  of 
Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  and  Ala- 
bama ; and  their  right  to  impose  restrictions  on  each  of 
them,  similar  to  that  contemplated  in  regard  to  Missouri, 
would  be  equally  as  unquestionable. 

The  whole  amount  of  the  authority  Congress  could  claim 
under  this  clause  of  the  Constitution,  was,  to  make  rules 
and  regulations  for  the  surveying  and  disposing  of  the  pub- 
lic lands,  to  regulate  the  quantities  in  which  it  should  be 
sold,  the  price,  and  the  predit. 

But  this  power  was  limited  in  its  operation  to  the 
property  alone,  and  by  no  construction  could  be  extended  to 
the  rights  of  the  citizens  inhabiting  the  territory.  Congress 
had  no  power  over  the  right  or  property  of  the  citizen,  bat, 
in  certain  cases,  to  levy  taxes  ; and  this  authority  was  one  of 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


219 


those  expressly  conferred  by  the  Constitution,  and  was  not 
alone  supported  by  inference. 

* * * * * * 

To  ascertain  what  powers  Congress  had  under  the  Con- 
stitution, which  was  ratified  on  the  17th  of  September  1787, 
resort  was  made  to  an  ordinance  of  the  13th  of  July,  1787, 
several  months,  in  date,  prior  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States. 

The  ordinance  was  passed  by  the  old  Congress,  under  the 
Articles  of  Confederation. 

The  adoption  of  the  federal  Constitution  was  the  forma- 
tion of  a new  government,  and  an  abolition  of  the  old  ; and 
yet,  an  ordinance  passed  by  the  former  government  was 
brought  up  in  judgment  to  define  and  expound  the  powers 
of  Congress  under  a new  and  totally  different  government — ■ 
under  a new  Constitution,  and  new  organization. 

Gentlemen  had  contended  that  Congress  had  revived  and 
ratified  the  ordinance  in  the  act  of  1802,  relating  to  Ohio  ; 
the  act  of  1816,  relating  to  Indiana;  and  the  act  of  1818, 
in  reference  to  Illinois  ; these  being  the  acts  by  which  Con- 
gress authorized  those  States  to  form  a Constitution  and 
State  government. 

But,  were  he  to  surrender  this  part  of  the  argument  to 
gentlemen,  could  it  possibly  be  deduced,  that,  because  Con- 
gress had  revived  the  ordinance  in  reference  to  any  one  or 
all  those  States,  that,  by  that  revival,  it  would  have  any 
operation  beyond  the  State  actually  named,  and  to  which  it 
was  applied.  Nor,  had  the  question  ever  been  made,  by 
any  of  those  States,  which  Missouri  now  made,  how  far 
Congress  had  the  power  to  impose  the  provisions  of  that 
ordinance  over  a State ; they  had  taken  it  as  a matter  of 
course  because  it  comported  with  their  wishes  and  their 
will. 

Missouri  did  not  intend  so  to  take  it,  because  it  neither 
promoted  her  i iterest,  nor  complied  with  her  wishes  or  her 


220 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


will ; nor  did  he  believe  that  either  of  those  States  would 
now  acknowledge  that  they  had  not  the  equal  right  with 
any  other  State  of  the  Union  to  call  a convention,  and  so 
alter  their  constitution  as  to  admit  slavery  ; and  if  they  had 
this  right,  the  operation  of  the  ordinance  upon  them  as  a 
State  was  void  and  of  no  avail. 

The  Ordinance  of  r78?,  then,  was  a dead  letter,  so  far  as 
it  had  been  resorted  to  as  furnishing  any  explanation  of  the 
powers  of  Congress  under  the  federal  Constitution,  and  it 
was  equally  inapplicable,  as  precedent,  in  relation  to  Mis- 
souri, because,  at  no  period  of  the  territorial  government, 
had  any  portion  of  its  provisions  been  extended  to  that  ter- 
ritory, save  only  those  principles  that  had  been  incorporated 
into  the  act  of  the  4th  of  Juue,  1802,  when  the  second  grade 
of  government  had  been  conferred  upon  Missouri. 

* * * * * * 

A member  from  Ohio  (Mr.  Brush)  had  contended  that, 
under  the  8th  section  of  the  Constitution  that  gave  Con- 
gress the  power  “ to  provide  for  the  common  defense  and 
general  welfare,”  they  could  impose  the  restriction  on  Mis- 
souri, because  he  had  assumed  it  for  granted,  that,  to  limit 
the  negroes  to  certain  latitudes,  and  to  confine  them  within 
certain  limits,  would  be  promoting  the  common  defense  and 
general  welfare. 

Now,  what  would  contribute  to  the  common  defense  and 
general  welfare  was  mere  matter  of  opinion,  and  it  was  not 
always  that  the  means  used  produced  the  end ; a mistake  in 
the  one  was  sure  to  defeat  the  other,  and  it  appeared  to 
Mr.  S.  much  more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  common 
defense  was  weakened,  and  the  general  welfare  much  more 
endangered,  by  confining  the  slaves  within  certain  districts, 
condensing  their  population,  and  enabling  them  to  act  in 
concert,  than  to  spread  them  over  a vast  extent  of  territory, 
distributing  them  in  small  proportions  among  the  whites, 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


221 


and  thus  prevent  the  probability  of  insurrection,  from  a want 
of  capacity  to  concentrate  their  forces. 

If,  then,  an  occasional  majority  of  Congress  had  the 
right,  under  this  or  any  other  clause  of  the  Constitution,  to 
say  that,  in  their  opinion,  it  promoted  the  common  defense 
and  general  welfare,  that  slavery  should  not  exist  in  certain 
States  of  the  Union  ; a counter  majority,  at  any  other 
time,  under  the  same  clause  of  the  Constitution,  would 
have  the  power  to  declare  that  it  comported  with  their 
views  of  common  defense  and  general  welfare  that  it 
should  exist  in  all  the  States,  and  that  the  non-slaveholding 
States  should  admit  slaves  within  their  borders,  under  pain 
of  suspension  or  expulsion  from  the  Union. 

How  would  gentlemen  then  stand  affected  ? 

Would  they  not  then  declare  against  this  mighty  power, 
exercised  upon  mere  speculation,  whether  this  or  that  mea- 
sure promoted  the  common  defense  and  general  welfare  of 
the  nation  ! In  point  of  fact  there  was  little,  if  any,  dif- 
ference between  the  taking  away,  or  forcing  upon,  any 
person  or  people  that  which  they  did  or  did  not  want ; each 
was  equally  a violation  of  their  rights. 

Mr.  Tucker,  of  Virginia,  said  : Putting  aside  the  feel- 
ings of  the  people  of  Missouri,  is  it  not  a solid  objection  to 
this  restriction,  that  your  power  to  impose  it  is  doubtful 
and  contested  ? However  thoroughly  gentlemen  on  the 
other  side  may  be  persuaded  that  Congress  possesses  this 
power,  they  must  know  that  a large  portion  of  the  United 
States  are  as  thoroughly  persuaded  that  it  does  not ; that, 
on  this  question  there  is  entire  unanimity  in  the  slavehold- 
ing States  ; and  that,  with  all  the  motives  to  an  opposite 
unanimity  in  the  other  States,  there  is  among  them,  as  well 
as  among  their  representatives  in  this  House,  considerable 
diversity  of  opinion. 

They  must  also  recollect,  that,  though  these  circum- 
stances do  not  produce  conviction,  they  must  produce  some 


222 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


doubt,  avvalcen  some  distrust  in  the  infallibility  of  human 
reason  in  every  ingenuous  mind. 

And,  Mr.  Chairman,  when  we  consider  the  influence  of 
public  opinion  on  the  harmony  and  stability  of  this  Union, 
it  must  always  be  a matter  of  regret  that  the  government 
should  exercise  powers  that  are  doubtful,  or  even  disputed. 
Until  habit  and  custom  have  had  their  wonted  effect  in 
cementing  the  Union,  its  strength  and  permanency  must 
rest  on  the  affections,  the  undivided  affections,  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  nothing  is  more  likely  to  weaken  their  attachment 
than  a want  of  confidence  in  this  House,  the  natural 
guardian  of  the  people’s  rights,  and  their  immediate  repre- 
sentatives. 

March  2.  Mr.  Stevens,  of  Connecticut,  said  : In  this 
question  of  compromise  now  to  be  decided,  I am  more 
fortunate,  I now  have  the  floor,  and  must  avail  myself  of 
this  first  opportunity  to  state,  explicitly,  that  I have  listened 
with  pain  to  the  very  long,  protracted  debate  that  has  been 
had  on  this  unfortunate  question  ; I call  it  unfortunate,  sir, 
because  it  has  drawn  forth  the  worst  passions  of  man  in  the 
course  of  the  discussion.  I have  heard  gentlemen,  and  I 
must  in  candor  say,  gentlemen  on  both  sides  of  the  question, 
boast  of  sectional  powers,  and  sectional  achievements;  and 
remind  gentlemen  from  opposite  sections  of  the  Union  that 
they  had  not  so  fought  and  so  conquered ; or  left  such  con- 
clusion irresistibly  to  follow. 

I want,  and  the  manifest  public  good  requires  that  the 
reverse  of  this  language  should  be  holden. 

Let  each  gentleman  boast  the  valor  of  the  inhabitants 
of  an  opposite  section  of  the  Union,  then  all  get  the  praise 
due  them,  and  in  a way  infinitely  more  acceptable  to  gentle- 
men of  becoming  modesty ; and  surely  if  any  people  ever 
merited  all  the  praise  that  has  been  arrogated  instead  of 
being  bestowed,  the  American  people  do.  But  it  is  not 
the  inhabitants  of  any  section  of  America  that  exclusively 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


223 


merit  all  their  exalted  praise  ; but  the  Union  collectively. 
In  casting  my  eye  over  the  map  of  my  country,  I scarcely 
discover  a spot  on  it  but  is  rendered  memorable  as  the 
birth-place  of  some  sage,  hero,  or  philosopher;  if  these  occur 
most  frequently  in  Connecticut  it  is  very  well — if  most  fre- 
quently in  some  other  State,  very  well — it  is  still  my  coun- 
try. Shall  I forego  every  joy  of  my  life  because  the  im- 
mortal Washington  was  not  born  in  the  State,  of  very  cir 
cumscribed  limits,  in  which  I was  born  ? Preposterous 
thought ! He  was  born  in  America. 

That  is  enough  for  me.  His  glory  reaches  us,  bottomed 
on  merit,  aud  scorns  the  proffered  aid  of  mouldering  marble 
to  perpetuate  it.  If  the  deadliest  enemy  this  country  has, 
or  ever  had,  could  dictate  language  the  most  likely  to 
destroy  your  glory,  prosperity,  and  happiness,  would  it  not 
be  precisely  what  has  been  so  profusely  used  in  this  debate — 
sectional  vaunting  ? Most  undoubtedly  it  would.  If  the 
fell  Spirit  of  Discord,  the  prime  mover  of  sedition  and  re- 
bellion in  the  heavenly  realms,  should  rack  his  hellish  in- 
vention for  the  same  malicious  purpose,  he  would  undoubt- 
edly pull  the  cord  of  sectional  prowess;  he  would  magnify 
the  valorous  deeds  of  each  particular  State  or  party  divi- 
sion, and  distort  or  obliterate  all  the  rest.  The  arch  plan- 
ner of  the  first  sedition  and  rebellion  must  for  ever  despair 
of  improving  on  the  sad  invention.  But,  sir,  gentlemen 
start  at  the  mention — Why  do  this  ? You  hold  your  seats 
by  the  tenure  of  compromise.  The  Constitution  is  a crea- 
ture of  compromise ; it  originated  in  a compromise ; and 
has  existed  ever  since  by  a perpetual  extension  aud  exercise 
of  that  principle  ; and  must  continue  to  do  so,  as  long  as  it 
lasts.  When  your  Convention  met  for  its  formation,  they 
immediately  discovered  that  the  general  welfare,  the  object 
of  their  solicitude,  could  not  be  secured  and  perpetuated, 
without  giving  up  something  like  particular  rights ; and 
this  giving  up  of  particular  rights,  to  secure  the  great  end 


224 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


and  object  of  their  meeting  was  called  a compromise 
What  did  they  do  ? They  debated  some  months  and  then 
came  to  the  obviously  necessary  result — compromise.  It 
was  plainly  seen  then  as  now — that,  to  obtain  the  object 
sought,  it  was  necessary  to  make  some  sacrifices  and  to  as- 
sume some  evils.  They  thus  thought  the  good  sought  was 
worth  the  sacrifices  necessary  to  obtain  it ; and  now  after 
thirty  years’  successful  experience,  who  dare  arraign  their 
wisdom  or  their  patriotism  ? Rashness  itself  must  forever 
remain  dumb  to  this  demand.  If  gentlemen  are  in  favor 
of  any  compromise,  it  is  a fit  time  to  discuss  that  subject, 
and  see  if  any  can  be  hit  on  that  will  give  general  satisfac- 
tion. I am  in  favor  of  a compromise,  but  have  strong  ob- 
jections to  that  now  under  consideration.  I greatly  fear  it 
would  tend  to  perpetuate  the  evil  we  seek  to  remedy.  The 
south  line  of  Pennsylvania  State  and  the  Ohio  waters  now 
form  the  boundary  line  between  the  two  parties.  If  you 
continue  that  line,  by  the  36°  30'  of  north  latitude,  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  I fear  it  will  not  prove  a pacific  measure. 
This  would  be  to  place  on  your  records  a perpetual  sallying 
place  for  party.  It  is  devoutly  to  be  wished  that  such 
compromise  might  be  hit  on  as  would  forever  put  an  end 
to  the  unhappy  existence  of  parties  in  their  present  shape. 
I should  prefer  a prohibition  of  the  admission  of  slaves  into 
that  State,  as  a measure  most  likely  to  effect  that  desirable 
object.  The  number  already  there  is  not  so  great  now  as 
to  be  a subject  of  any  great  uneasiness  to  those  most  op- 
posed to  the  continuance  of  slavery. 

Pew  gentlemen  have  risen  in  debate  on  this  question, 
without  deeply  lamenting  (and  I think  with  great  reason) 
the  existence  of  parties,  designated  by  geographical  lines 
and  boundaries. 

I also  deprecate  it,  as  being  a division  of  the  Union  into 
parties  so  equal  in  number,  wealth,  intelligence,  and  extent 
of  territory.  Indeed,  sir,  there  is  no  view  of  this  unhappy 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


225 


division  of  our  country,  but  must  be  sickening  to  the  patriot, 
and  in  direct  violation  of  the  dictate  of  wisdom  and  the 
last,  though  not  least,  important  advice  of  the  father  and 
friend  of  his  country.  He  forbids  the  use  of  the  words 
Northern  and  Southern,  Atlantic  and  Western,  as  descrip- 
tive of  the  various  parts  of  your  country. 

And  will  you  forget  so  important  an  injunction  from  that 
n.an  in  so  short  a time  ? Was  there  no  political  wisdom  in 
the  command  ? If  none,  why  has  it  been  so  Idng  venerated  ? 
I should  prefer  a compromise  forbidding  the  importation  of 
any  more  slaves  into  the  State  of  Missouri. 

This,  I think,  would  allay  party  feeling,  drive  into  for- 
getfulness present  feuds,  and  satisfy  my  friends  to  the  north 
and  east,  with  whom  I have  acted,  and  delight  to  act.  In 
common  with  them,  I have  an  hereditary  dislike  to  slavery, 
strengthened  by  a residence  all  my  life,  to  the  present  time, 
in  a country  where  it  does  not  exist.  I honor  their  dislike 
of  slavery,  and  firmly  believe  there  is  not  a gentleman  iu 
this  House  but  deprecates  its  existence.  Agreeing  in  this 
all-important  point,  let  us  not  separate  because  we  cannot 
think  precisely  alike  of  the  means  best  calculated  to  eradi- 
cate it. 

Was  it  ever  known  that  a body  so  numerous  thought 
exactly  alike  throughout  any  one  grand,  all-important 
measure  for  public  good,  in  all  the  detail  ? And  is  it  not 
the  circumstance  of  a division  in  sentiment  ill  so  large  a 
body,  so  equal  iu  point  of  number,  a thing  that  should  lead 
both  to  suspect  they  may  be  wrong  ? Gentlemen  who  have 
much  property  of  this  sort,  I agree,  are  deeply  interested  ; 
but  candor  must  at  the  same  time  admit  they  have,  from 
the  fact  of  being  slaveholders,  much  practical  and  useful 
knowledge  on  this  subject  that  cannot  be  claimed  by  non- 
slaveholders.  And  this  knowledge  is  extremely  useful,  not 
to  say  indispensable,  especially  as  to  the  extent  of  the  evil 
to  the  slaves,  and  to  the  community  generally.  This  know- 
15 


226 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


ledge  is  indispensable  when  it  is  sought  to  effect  emanci- 
pation on  terms  the  best  calculated  to  insure  infallible 
success,  and  to  effect  it  in  a way  the  least  likely  to  hazard 
any  destructive  revolution  that  might,  in  unskillful  hands, 
insure  more  evil  than  the  good  intended.  If  we  admit 
slaveholders  to  have  more  knowledge  on  this  subject  than, 
from  the  nature  of  the  case,  we  can  have,  their  voice  in 
council  should  not  be  entirely  unheeded. 

But,  sir,  we  have  now  arrived  at  a point  at  which  every 
gentleman  agrees  something  must  be  done.  A precipice 
lies  before  us,  at  which  perdition  is  inevitable.  Gentlemen 
on  both  sides  of  this  question,  and  in  both  Houses,  in  doors 
and  out  of  doors,  have  evinced  a determination  that  augurs 
ill  of  the  high  destinies  of  this  country  ? And  who  does 
not  tremble  for  the  consequences  ? 

I do  not  here  speak  of  that  feeling  which  results  from  an 
apprehension  of  personal  danger.  No,  sir!  I speak  of 
that  feeling  which  agitates  the  soul  of  every  patriot  when 
his  country  is  in  danger. 

I speak  of  that  feeling,  without  a susceptibility  of  which 
a man  is  no  ornament  to  any  country.  I wish  not  to  be 
misunderstood,  sir.  I don’t  pretend  to  say  that  in  just  five 
calendar  months  your  union  will  be  at  an  end  ; your  con- 
stitution destroyed  ; your  proud  trophies,  won  in  the  most 
valiant  combat,  profaned  ; glories  of  half  a century,  gained 
by  yourselves  and  your  departed  friends,  and  un equaled  in 
the  history  of  any  country  or  people  on  the  face  of  the 
earth,  made  the  sport  of  an  envying  world  ; and  all  this  in 
a sacrilegious  contest,  at  the  end  of  which  no  wise  man 
would  give  a pea-straw  for  his  choice  on  which  side  to  be 
found,  as  the  victors  would  have  lost  all,  and  the  vanquished 
have  nothing  left  to  excite  envy. 

February,  1820.  Mr.  Richard  M.  Johnson,  of  Kentucky, 
addressed  the  Senate  as  follows : 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


227 


Mr.  President : It  appears  to  me,  sir,  that  in  the  course 
of  this  debate  we  have  unhappily  misunderstood  each  other. 
Expressions  have  been  used,  on  both  sides,  conveying  dif- 
ferent sentiments  from  what  were  intended.  Those  who 
have  advocated  the  measure  of  restriction,  have  used 
language  which  would  indicate  a disposition  to  proceed  to 
universal  emancipation,  alike  regardless  of  the  means  by 
which  they  would  accomplish  it,  and  of  the  sovereignty  of 
the  States  in  which  it  is  tolerated ; at  the  same  time 
charging  upon  the  present  proprietors  of  this  species  of 
property  all  the  odium  of  that  perfidy  and  cruelty  by  which 
slavery  was  first  introduced  into  the  country.  Those,  on 
the  other  hand,  who  have  contended  for  the  sovereignty  of 
the  States,  and  opposed  the  measure  of  restriction  as  an 
assumption  of  power  unknown  in  the  Constitution,  have 
given  a latitude  to  their  expressions  which  has  been  con 
strued  into  a justification  of  the  abstract  principle  of  slavery. 
Misconceptions,  and  misconstructions  of  language,  pro- 
ducing crimination  and  recrimination,  should  ever  be 
avoided  in  this  body,  especially  upon  this  delicate  subject. 

On  reviewing  the  scope  of  argument,  on  both  sides,  I am 
satisfied  that  the  one  cannot  be  justly  charged  wdth  advoca- 
ting the  sentiments  which  their  language  would  seem  to  in- 
dicate; nor  the  other,  with  an  attempt  to  justify  the  ab- 
stract principle  of  slavery  as  either  religiously,  morally,  or 
politically,  correct.  None  will  pretend,  that  Congress  can 
interfere  with  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  several  States  ; and 
no  member  of  the  Senate  could  advocate  the  slave  trade 
without  exciting  the  indignation  of  the  whole  nation.  The 
tree  is  known  by  its  fruit.  And  let  me  entreat  you,  sir, 
to  recollect  what  has  been  the  conduct  of  the  representa- 
tives of  States,  wnere  this  property  is  recognized,  from  the 
commencement  of  1808,  the  moment  in  which  the  general 
government  was  authorized  by  the  Constitution  to  prut  an 
end  to  this  merciless  traffic.  Not  a solitary  voice  has  been 


228 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


raised  in  favor  of  the  African  slave  trade.  A universal  dis- 
position has  ever  been  evinced  to  annihilate  forever  this 
cruel  branch  of  commerce,  which  swells  every  bosom  with 
sorrow  ; which  fills  every  heart  with  indignatiou.  If  all  the 
States,  in  which  slavery  exist,  can  furnish  one  exception — 
if  the  slave  trade  has  ever  had  one  advocate  within  these 
walls,  let  it  be  proclaimed  to  the  world ! No  such  excep- 
tion does  exist — no  such  advocate  can  be  found.  For  my 
own  part,  in  verity  I protest,  that  no  person  in  existence 
more  detest  this  abominable  traffic  in  human  beings  than 
myself ; and  I am  confident  that  every  man  whom  I repre- 
sent has  the  same  abhorrent  feelings  in  relation  to  the  sub- 
ject. But,  sir,  the  right  of  Congress  to  interfere  in  pro- 
perty of  this,  and  other  description,  is  quite  a different  ques- 
tion. It  was  originally  imposed  upon  us  by  the  policy  of 
Great  Britain;  but  now  we  have  acquired  in  it  a legitimate 
propriety  ; we  have  paid  for  it  our  money  ; we  hold  it  under 
the  sanction  of  law,  and  have  the  right  to  dispose  of  it  as  we 
please.  The  General  Government,  if  not  pledged  to  guar- 
antee to  us  the  enjoyment  of  it,  certainly  have  no  right,  con- 
stitutional or  moral,  to  wrest  it  from  us.  We  hold  not 
ourselves  accountable  to  the  nation  for  the  treatment  we 
shall  observe,  or  the  disposition  we  shall  make  of  this,  more 
than  any  other  species  of  property,  nor  will  any  be  permit- 
ted to  dictate  our  conduct  therein.  Notwithstanding  these 
sentiments,  no  person  can  more  sincerely  lament,  than  I do, 
the  existence  of  involuntary  servitude  in  the  United  States; 
and  none  would  make  greater  personal  sacrifices,  could  I 
discover  a way,  in  the  providence  of  God,  to  bring  it  to  an 
end. 

We  are  not  the  only  people  who  have  had  slaves  ; yes, 
and  slaves  of  their  own  complexion.  I speak  not  this  to 
justify  the  principle,  but  to  remind  you  of  the  fact,  that 
slavery  has  existed  from  the  earliest  ages  of  antiquity  to  the 
present  day.  Nor  has  its  existence  been  confined  to  heathen 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


229 


nations  ; both  Jews  and  Christians,  believers  as  well  as  un- 
believers in  divine  revelation,  from  the  patriarchs  of  God’s 
ancient  people  to  the  present  time,  have  been  the  proprie- 
tors of  slaves,  without  one  admonition  from  Heaven  in  the 
whole  book  of  inspiration  against  it.  The  law  of  Moses, 
delivered  by  the  Almighty  himself  for  the  government  of  his 
own  chosen  race,  recognized  a complete  property  in  slaves. 
“ Abraham,  the  father  of  the  faithful,”  “the  friend  of  God,” 
had  upwards  of  two  hundred  born  in  his  own  house,  whom 
he  trained  to  war.  Isaac,  the  child  of  promise,  inherited 
this  property  ; and  Jacob,  the  progenitor  of  the  twelve  tribes 
of  Israel,  had  bond-men  and  bond-maids  of  his  own.  We 
even  find  the  same  custom  to  have  prevailed  with  them, 
which  continues  to  the  present  day  ; that  when  a daughter 
was  given  in  marriage,  she  received,  as  a gift  from  her  fa- 
ther, a maid-servant,  and  a man-servant  was  given  with  a 
son.  Under  the  benign  influence  of  the  gospel  dispensation, 
no  change  in  this  respect  is  found.  The  Apostle  Paul,  in 
his  letters  to  the  churches  of  Ephesus  and  Colosse,  and  in 
his  instruction  to  Timothy,  designed  for  all  Christians,  and 
in  all  ages,  speaking  of  the  relative  and  reciprocal  duties  of 
parents  and  children,  of  husbands  and  wives,  never  fails  to 
exhort  servants  or  slaves  to  be  obedient  to  their  masters, 
and  masters  to  deal  gently  with  their  slaves.  Fidelity,  on 
the  part  of  the  slave,  and  kindness,  on  the  part  of  the 
master,  are  thus  made  Christian  duties ; but  emancipa- 
tion is  not  even  hinted  at,  as  the  right  of  the  one,  or 
the  obligation  of  the  other.  Before  I leave  this  part 
of  the  subject  it  may  not  be  improper  to  advert  to  the 
story  of  Onesimus  ; he  was  the  slave  of  Philemon,  a dis- 
tinguished Christian  minister.  Onesimus  fled  from  his  mas- 
ter and  went  to  Home,  where,  by  the  instruction  of  Paul,  he 
was  converted  to  the  Christian  faith.  Paul  found  him  use- 
ful in  the  cause,  and  desired  to  retain  him  in  Home  ; but 
recognizing  the  property  of  Philemon  in  him,  he  had  n-j 


230 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


hesitation  to  remand  Onesimus  to  his  master  ; and  not  even 
to  employ  him  in  the  cause  of  God,  without  first  obtaining 
his  master’s  consent.  Now,  sir,  as  it  is  evident,  that,  under 
every  dispensation  of  Heaven,  slavery  has  existed,  and  that 
neither  patriarchs,  prophets,  nor  apostles,  to  whom  the 
word  of  inspiration  was  committed,  ever  made  the  subject 
a test  of  piety,  or  matter  of  animadversion,  I know  of  no 
principle,  either  human  or  divine,  by  which  slaveholders  in 
America  can  be  justly  reprobated  as  the  most  odious  of 
mankind. 

Do  I attempt  to  justify  the  principle  of  slavery  by  thus 
adverting  to  sacred  history  to  prove  its  existence  among  good 
men  ? No.  But  the  allusion  is  made  to  prove  this  fact  : 
that  there  may  be  a state  of  things  in  which  slavery  be- 
comes a necessary  evil,  and  which  its  existence  is  not  in- 
compatible with  true  religion.  Such  a state  of  things,  the 
gentlemen  on  the  opposite  side  must  acknowledge  to  have 
existed  among  themselves  ; for  in  the  abolition  of  slavery  in 
those  States  where  it  is  abolished,  though  the  number  was 
small,  yet  the  wisdom  of  their  legislatures,  in  almost  every 
instance,  prevented  the  evils  which  they  expected  to  result 
from  a sudden  change,  by  providing  for  its  gradual  aboli- 
tion. Yes,  sir,  those  who  are  now  most  censorious  in  their  de- 
clamations against  slavery,  have,  by  their  own  acts,  in  their 
own  States,  sanctioned,  every  principle  which  the  slave- 
holder in  other  States,  either  sanctions  or  avows;  because, 
in  the  gradual  instead  of  sudden  abolition,  they  have  ac- 
knowledged the  existence  of  that  state  of  things  among 
themselves,  which  justified  the  holding  of  some  iu  a state  of 
involuntary  servitude  for  life,  and  of  others  for  a term  of 
years.  If  such  has  been  the  policy  of  States,  where  the 
numbers  of  slaves,  owing  originally  to  the  coldness  of  their 
climate  rather  than  to  any  moral  cause,  bore  but  a very 
small  proportion  to  their  whole  population,  it  is  but  rea- 
sonable to  conclude  that  they  would  have  justified  I he  same 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


231 


policy  which  has  governed  their  sister  States,  had  it  been 
their  lot  to  have  embosomed  as  great  a proportion  of 
slaves. 

Bat  humanity  is  the  plea.  And  can  gentlemen  sincerely 
believe  that  the  cause  of  humanity  will  be  promoted  by  still 
confining  this  population  within  such  limits  as  that  their 
relative  numbers  will  oppose  everlasting  obstacles  to  their 
emancipation  ? Upon  the  most  extensive  principle  of 
philanthropy,  I say,  let  them  spread  forth  with  the  growing 
extent  of  our  nation.  I am  sure  I plead  the  cause  of 
humanity.  I advocate  the  best  interests  of  the  sons  of 
bondage,  when  I entreat  you  to  give  them  room  to  be 
happy ; and  so  disperse  them  as  that,  under  the  auspices  of 
Providence,  they  may  one  day  enjoy  the  rights  of  man, 
without  convulsing  the  empire  or  endangering  society.  Wo 
must  now  take  the  world  as  we  find  it — not  as  we  would 
have  it — and  adapt  our  measures  to  the  actual  state  of 
things.  The  cruelties  which  are  passed  cannot  be  retracted  ; 
and  upon  the  slave  trade  we  can  now  only  look  back  with 
emotions  of  regret,  which  have  but  one  balm  of  consolation 
to  mitigate  our  sorrows.  It  is  this : that  outrages  upon 
humanity  may  >e  tolerated  in  civilized  society,  which  are 
overruled  by  I ivine  Providence,  for  the  ultimate  good  of 
those  who  were  the  victims  of  cruelty.  Such  has  been  the 
consequence  of  the  slave  trade  ; and  let  it  now  be  our  object 
to  make  them  feel  the  benefit,  since  they  have  not  been 
exempted  from  the  misery. 

There  is  no  just  cause  for  irritation  on  this  subject.  We 
should  suppress  our  feelings,  when  they  threaten  to  trans- 
port us  beyond  the  bounds  of  reason.  Early  habits  beget 
strong  prejudices  ; and  under  a heavy  burden  of  them  we 
all  labor.  But  it  becomes  us  to  bring  them  to  one  common 
altar,  and  consume  them  together.  Before  we  compel  our 
brother  to  pluck  the  mote  from  his  eye,  it  will  be  wise  to 
take  the  beam  from  our  own.  On  this  occasion  I cannot 


232 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


omit  to  mention  my  own  feelings  on  a former  occurrence. 
When  I first  came  to  Congress,  it  was  with  mingled  emo- 
tions of  horror  and  surprise  that  I saw  citizens  from  the 
non-slaveholding  States,  as  they  are  called — yes,  and  both 
branches  of  our  National  Legislature — riding  in  a coach 
and  four,  with  a white  servant  seated  before,  managing  the 
reins,  another  standing  behind  the  coach,  and  both  of  these 
white  servants  in  livery.  Is  this,  said  I to  myself,  the 
degraded  condition  of  the  citizen,  on  whose  voice  the  liber- 
ties of  a nation  may  depend '(  I could  not  reconcile  it  with 
my  ideas  of  freedom  ; because,  in  the  State  where  I received 
my  first  impressions,  slaves  alone  were  servile.  All  white 
men  there  are  on  an  equality,  and  every  citizen  feels  his 
independence.  We  have  no  classes — no  patrician  or  ple- 
beian rank.  Honesty  and  honor  form  all  the  distinctions 
that  are  felt  or  known.  Whatever  may  be  the  condition  of 
a citizen  with  us,  you  must  treat  him  as  an  equal.  This,  I 
find,  is  not  so  in  every  part  of  the  non-slaveholding  States, 
especially  in  your  populous  cities,  where  ranks  and  distinc- 
tions, the  precursors  of  aristocracy,  already  begin  to  exist. 
They  whose  business  it  is  to  perform  menial  offices  in  other 
States,  are  as  servile  as  our  slaves  in  the  West.  Where  is 
the  great  difference  betwixt  the  condition  ot  him  who  keeps 
your  stable,  who  blacks  your  boots,  who  holds  your  stirrups, 
or  mounts  behind  your  coach  when  you  ride,  and  the  slave 
who  obeys  the  command  of  his  master  ? There  may  be  a 
nominal  difference  ; but  it  would  be  difficult  to  describe  its 
reality.  In  the  one  case  it  is  called  voluntary,  because  it  is 
imposed  by  its  own  necessity,  and  in  the  other  involuntary, 
because  imposed  by  the  will  of  another.  Whatever  differ- 
ence there  may  be  in  the  principle,  the  effects  upon  society 
are  the  same.  The  condition,  in  some  respects,  is  in  favor 
of  the  slave.  He  is  supplied  with  food  and  clothing ; and 
in  the  hour  of  sickness  he  finds  relief.  No  anxious  cares 
in  relation  to  age  and  infirmity,  invade  his  breast.  He 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


233 


fears  no  duns : careless  of  the  pressure  of  :he  times,  he 
dreads  not  the  coercion  of  payment,  nor  feels  the  cruelty  of 
that  code  which  confines^  the  white  servant  in  prison,  be- 
cause the  iron  hand  of  poverty  has  wrested  from  him  the- 
means  of  support  for  his  family.  Though  slavery  still  must 
be  confessed  a bitter  draught,  yet  where  the  stamp  of 
nature  marks  the  distinction,  and  when  the  mind,  from 
early  habit,  is  moulded  to  the  condition,  the  slave  often 
finds  less  bitterness  in  the  cup  of  life  than  most  white  ser- 
vants. What  is  the  condition  of  many,  who  are  continually 
saluting  our  ears  with  cries  of  want,  even  in  this  city  ? 
Men,  women,  boys,  girls,  from  infancy  to  old  age,  craving 
relief  from  every  passenger.  Are  they  slaves?  No. 
Among  the  slaves  are  no  beggars ; no  vagrants  ; none  idle 
for  want  of  employ,  or  crying  for  want  of  bread.  Every 
condition  of  life  has  its  evils ; and  most  evils  have  some 
palliative ; though  perhaps  none  less  than  those  of  white 
menials.  Yet,  sir,  none  are  more  lavish  of  their  censures 
against  slavery  than  those  lordlings  with  livery  servants  of 
their  own  complexion.  For  my  own  part,  I have  hitherto 
been  fortunate  in  my  public  course,  in  having  retained  the 
confidence  of  my  fellow  citizens.  I have  not  only  triumphed 
over  the  most  troubled  elements — I have  even  braved  the 
storm  produced  by  the  famous  compensation  law ; but  I 
never  could  stand  having  white  servants  dressed  in  livery. 
No,  sir,  when  the  honest  laborer,  the  mechanic,  however 
poor,  or  whatever  his  employment,  visits  my  house,  it  mat- 
ters not  what  company  is  there,  he  must  sit  with  me  at  my 
board,  and  receive  the  same  treatment  as  the  most  dis 
tinguished  guest ; because  in  him  I recognize  a fellow 
citizen  and  an  equal. 

The  condition  of  the  slave  is  but  little  understood  by 
those  who  are  not  the  eye-witnesses  of  his  treatment.  His 
sufferings  are  greatly  aggravated  in  their  apprehension. 
The  general  character  of  the  slaveholding  community  can 


284 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


no  more  be  determined,  nor  should  they  be  any  more  stig- 
matized, by  a particular  instance  of  cruelty  to  a slave,  than 
the  character  of  the  non-slaveholding  community  by  a par- 
ticular instance  of  cruelty  in  a parent  toward  his  child,  a 
guardian  to  his  ward,  or  a master  to  his  apprentice.  No 
man  among  us  can  be  cruel  to  his  slave  without  incurring 
the  execration  of  the  wdiole  community.  The  slave  is  trained 
to  industry;  and  he  is  recompensed  by  kindness  and  hu- 
manity, which  lighten  his  burden.  His  master  is  his  guar- 
dian. He  enjoys  the  rights  of  conscience,  and  worships 
God  as  he  chooses.  The  Gospel  sheds  as  bright  a lustre 
on  his  path  as  on  that  of  the  white  man  ; and  quite  as  great 
a proportion  of  them  become  believers  in  the  Saviour,  and 
are  admitted  into  the  communion  of  the  Christian  Church. 

Except  on  the  sugar,  the  rice,  and  the  cotton  plantations, 
at  the  South,  the  slave  is  not  a profit  to  his  master.  Upon 
a fair  calculation  of  debtor  and  creditor,  the  majority  of 
them  would  fall  in  debt ; and  the  holding  of  them  is  more 
a matter  of  convenience  than  profit. 

A solemn  appeal  has  been  made  to  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  as  if  that  instrument  had  a bearing  upon  this 
question  ; though,  at  that  day,  and  long  since,  slavery  ex- 
isted in  every  State  of  the  Union.  That  sentiment  has 
been  quoted,  that  all  men  are  created  equal ; that  they  are 
endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  equal,  inalienable 
rights ; among  which  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness.  This  sacred  truth  should  be  engraven  upon 
every  heart,  for  it  is  the  foundation  of  all  civil  rights,  and 
the  palladium  of  our  liberties.  The  meaning  of  this  sen- 
tence is  defined  in  its  application ; that  all  communities 
stand  upon  an  equality;  that  Americans  are  equal  with 
Englishmen,  and  have  the  right  to  organize  such  govern- 
ment for  themselves  as  they  shall  choose,  whenever  it  is 
their  pleasure  to  dissolve  the  bonds  which  unite  them  to 
another  people.  The  same  principle  applied  to  Missouri 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


2ci5 


will  defeat  the  object  of  gentlemen  who  advocate  this  re- 
striction. 

Could  this  principle  be  reduced  to  practice  in  relation 
to  every  human  being,  it  would  be  happy ; but  such  is  the 
character,  and  such  the  condition  of  man,  that  it  is  per- 
petually violated  by  every  individual,  and  by  every  body 
politic ; often  wantonly,  sometimes  through  necessity. 
Every  State  in  this  Confederacy,  not  even  excepting  the 
great  and  unambitious  State  of  Pennsylvania,  violates  this 
principle,  if  it  be  understood  according  to  the  application 
given  it  by  gentlemen,  in  the  most  important  political 
rights — the  elective  franchise  and  the  qualification  for  office. 
The  organization  of  every  department,  both  of  the  general 
government  and  the  State  governments,  infringes  upon  this 
principle.  Different  qualifications  are  required  in  different 
States;  in  some,  a freehold  inheritance;  and  the  least,  in 
the  most  democratic  States,  are  age  and  residence.  And 
shall  we  reject  a State  for  this  violation  of  principle  ? 
However  unfortunate  it  may  be,  this  great  principle  of 
equality,  so  delightful  in  theory,  is  but  very  partially  re- 
garded in  practice  ; and  I will  not  deny  the  allegation,  when 
it  is  asserted  that  necessity  often  justifies  the  measure. 
Then,  sir,  let  imperious  necessity,  in  this  case,  also  prefer 
its  claim  to  consideration. 

* * * * * * * 

There  is  a mystery  in  this  anxiety,  this  excitement  of 
popular  commotion  on  the  one  hand,  and  this  utter  indiffer- 
ence on  the  other,  which  it  requires  a casuist  to  divine. 
Is  your  object  the  emancipation  of  slaves?  No  one  pre- 
tends that  this  measure  will  diminish  the  number  of  slaves, 
unless,  by  this  very  singular  kind  of  humanity,  you  dimin- 
ish their  comfort  to  such  a degree  as  to  prevent  the  increase 
of  that  species  of  population.  Nor  is  it  pretended  that  the 
failure  of  this  favorite  motion  for  restriction  will  enslave  a 
Bolitary  individual  of  the  human  race  ; though  we  have  wit- 


236 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


nessed  that  strange  kind  of  sympathy  for  their  sufferings 
which  would  so  confirm  their  misery  as  to  deprive  them  of 
a posterity.  For  my  own  part,  Mr.  President,  I do  not 
well  comprehend  this  humanity.  I would  prefer  a different 
exercise  of  this  noble  principle.  Miserable  as  the  condi- 
tion of  the  slave  may  be,  his  condition  is  yet  preferred  to 
that  of  annihilation.  He  finds  in  life  sufficient  charms  to 
induce  him  still  to  cleave  to  it ; and  in  his  rising  progeny 
he  has  the  same  kind  of  satisfaction  that  the  free  man  feels. 
He  will  never  court  your  sympathies,  if  they  are  to  be 
elicited  in  adding  confinement  to  servitude,  and  to  ultimate 
in  annihilation.  Humanity  has  a head  as  well  as  heart; 
and  as  the  citizens  of  Missouri  have  the  same  right  in  na- 
ture to  govern  themselves  that  any  others  enjoy,  the  legiti- 
mate exercise  of  this  principle  will  be,  to  leave  them  to  the 
enjoyment  of  that  right,  and  they  will  decide  for  themselves 
the  most  humane  policy  to  be  pursued. 

But,  sir,  this  is  not  a question  of  slavery.  The  simple 
question  involved  is  this ; whether  I shall  have  an  equal 
right  with  my  worthy  friend  from  Pennsylvania  (Mr.  Rob- 
erts) to  remove  with  my  property  (slaves  and  all)  to  Mis- 
souri— a common  property,  purchased  by  the  common 
treasure  of  the  whole  Union ; and  whether  my  constituents, 
the  citizens  of  Kentucky,  shall  enjoy  the  same  right  with 
the  citizens  of  Maine  to  inherit  this  common  property,  with 
all  their  effects.  I am  aware,  sir,  that,  by  some  means,  this 
question  has  been  made  to  assume  the  appearance  of  a ques- 
tion for  freedom,  on  the  one  hand,  and  slavery  on  the  other. 
From  the  popular  excitement  which  has  manifested  itself 
in  many  communities  at  the  North,  I am  warranted  in  this 
conclusion.  The  mass  of  society  in  every  section  of  our 
country  is  righteous;  and  I am  certain  the  expression  of 
their  sentiments  upon  this  subject,  by  such  worthy  and 
honorable  citizens,  in  so  many  popular  meetings,  has  been 
upon  this  mistaken  view.  It  has  not  been  the  clamor  of 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION-. 


237 


intriguing  politicians,  striving  for  an  ascendancy  of  power, 
provoking  local  animosities  for  ambitious  purposes,  but 
from  a misapprehension  of  the  main  question  for  that  of 
slavery.  I am  ready  to  acknowledge  that  they  have  shown 
a zeal  in  the  cause  of  liberty  which  does  honor  to  their 
hearts.  I will  mention  a case  in  point : A very  worthy 
friend  of  mine,  who  was  always  an  enemy  to  slavery,  and 
had  made  personal  sacrifices  in  the  cause  of  emancipation, 
was  of  the  opinion  that  Congress  had  no  constitutional 
right  to  impose  this  restriction.  He  received  a letter  from 
an  intimate  friend  of  his,  expressing  much  surprise  on 
learning  that  he  had  become  an  advocate  for  slavery.  In 
his  reply,  he  denied  the  charge  of  having  changed  his  sen- 
timents ; but  stated  his  reasons  for  the  opinion  which  he 
held  in  a manner  which  would  have  done  honor  both  to  the 
bead  and  heart  of  a legislator.  He  conceived  the  govern- 
ment to  be  pledged,  by  the  solemn  stipulation  of  the  treaty 
of  cession  by  which  that  territory  was  acquired,  to  admit 
them  into  the  Union  ; which  pledge  could  not  be  honorably 
redeemed,  if  conditions  were  imposed  which  did  not  exist 
in  relation  to  the  original  States.  As  slavery  therein  had 
been  sanctioned  by  law  while  it  remained  a territory;  and 
as  citizens  of  the  States,  holding  slaves,  had  purchased 
lands  from  the  Government,  in  that  territory,  under  the  ex- 
pectation of  removing  to  it,  and  improving  it  with  their 
slaves,  he  conceived  it  to  be  an  act  of  injustice  in  that  Gov- 
ernment to  require  a condition  which  would  deprive  them 
of  these  benefits.  The  power  of  Congress  to  admit  new 
States  into  the  Union,  he  conceived  to  be  no  other  than 
that  of  the  principle  of  the  Constitution  ; whereby  every 
State  so  admitted  must  retain  the  same  sovereignty  as  that 
retained  by  the  States  which  formed  the  Federal  compact ; 
and  as  those  States  had  reserved  to  themselves  the  power 
of  sanctioning  or  abolishing  slavery,  so  Missouri,  on  be- 
coming a State,  could  not  be  constitutionally  deprived  of 


238 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


that  power.  This  reasoning,  sir,  appears  to  me  conclusive. 
The  stipulations  of  the  treaty  ; the  sanctions  under  which 
the  lands  have  been  sold,  and  the  nature  of  the  Constitution 
itself,  in  regard  to  State  sovereignties,  oppose  irresistible 
obstacles  to  the  restriction  proposed.  But  these  misunder- 
standings of  the  real  question  at  issue  are  unfortunate,  as 
they  produce  a false  alarm  in  the  community.  Prejudices 
thus  riveted  upon  the  minds  of  a virtuous  people  are  cal- 
culated to  array  one  part  of  the  great  American  family 
against  the  other,  without  the  hope  of  one  solitary  benefit 
for  the  result.  Ambitious  men  may  giadly  seize  the  occa- 
sion to  court  popularity  and  confidence;  but  rest  assured 
the  people  are  to, be  the  victims  of  their  wiles. 

The  division  which  this  subject  produces  is  the  more  to 
be  deprecated  as  it  is  marked  by  geographical  lines.  The 
mischievous  consequences  of  thus  provoking  jealousies  and 
animosities  have  not  been  sufficiently  contemplated  by  the 
patriot  and  statesman.  The  inevitable  result  must  be  this : 
you  will  look  for  residence,  and  overlook  merit.  Public 
services  and  private  virtues  will  be  forgotten.  A demon  or 
a saint  will  equally  suit  your  purpose,  till  the  favorite  ob- 
ject is  accomplished.  Prejudice  will  blind  your  eyes  to  the 
danger  of  bad  principles ; and  while  laboring  in  vain  to 
break  the  manacles  of  others,  who  do  not  thank  you  for  the 
effort,  you  are  forging  chains  for  yourselves  that  will  one 
day  hold  you  in  bondage.  Heretofore  we  have  divided 
upon  the  principle  of  measures  equally  affecting  every  part 
of  the  nation.  In  1198,  when  measures  tending  to  consoli- 
dation, threatening  the  liberty  of  speech  and  the  press,  were 
pursued,  no  geographical  lines,  marking  the  division  be- 
tween slaveholding  and  non-slaveholding  States,  produced 
the  sentiments  of  either  party.  The  strife  was  betwixt 
honest  and  patriotic  members  of  every  community  and  every 
village.  The  consequences  were  often  unhappy  for  a 
moment,  but  not  dangerous  to  the  whole  family.  The 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


239 


enmities  which  it  occasioned  were  temporary,  and  would 
soon  die  a natural  death.  But  when  local  residence  be- 
comes the  occasion  of  deep-rooted  animosities,  the  conse- 
quences are  always  dangerous,  and  often  fatal.  Why,  then, 
attempt  a dangerous  course  when  necessity  does  not  de- 
mand it  ? There  is  nothing  in  the  legitimate  exercise  of 
the  powers  of  the  general  government,  touching  any  of  Lhe 
objects  of  the  confederacy,  which  requires  a single  allusion 
to  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  States.  Once  in  ten  years 
it  may  possibly  have  its  influence  in  fixing  the  ratio  of 
representation  ; and  I believe,  at  the  last  census,  the  slave- 
holding  States  lost  several  representatives,  by  the  superior 
management  of  the  other  States,  in  leaving  the  greatest 
fraction  upon  them.  But,  this  being  accidental  and  tempo- 
rary, was  no  subject  of  contention. 

On  the  present  occasion,  sir,  you  attempt  impossibilities. 
You  may  injure,  but  you  cannot  benefit,  the  black  popula- 
tion. If  ever  they  enjoy  freedom  their  emancipation  must 
be  gradual ; and  it  must  be  preceded  by  a progressive 
amelioration  of  their  condition,  to  prepare  them  for  liberty. 
The  more  you  suffer  them  to  disperse,  the  more  rapidly  you 
will  accelerate  this  desirable  state  of  things.  The  energies 
of  the  Christian  world  are  now  combined  in  the  diffusion 
of  evangelical  light,  and  the  principles  which  it  inculcates 
are  every  day  relaxing  the  bonds  of  slavery. 

Providence,  all  wise  and  inscrutable  in  its  ways,  is  gradu- 
ally effecting  the  nltimate  object  of  our  wishes,  which  your 
ill-timed  interposition  is  calculated  only  to  retard.  Indi- 
vidual exertion,  acting  in  concert,  can  alone  prepare  the 
way.  Encourage  Sunday-schools  ; multiply  Bible  societies ; 
increase  missionary  exertions  ; animate  to  deeds  of  benevo- 
lence abolition  societies,  and  perfect  the  system  of  coloniza- 
tion. Then  trust  the  kind  providence  of  God  for  the 
result,  and  you  will  perform  the  duties  of  Christians  and 
patriots,  in  the  service  of  God  and  his  creatures.  But  till 


240 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION". 


you  can  change  the  spots  of  the  leopard,  you  cannot  change 
the  condition  of  the  slaves  by  the  illegitimate  measures 
now  proposed.  You  may  violate  the  Constitution — you 
may  impair  the  social  compact  by  encroaching  upon  the 
sovereignty  of  the  States,  which  is  the  palladium  of  our 
liberties — you  may  touch  the  right  of  property  under  the 
pretext  of  letting  the  captive  go  free  ; you  may  essay  to 
bind  the  people  of  Missouri,  by  prescribing  to  them  con- 
ditions of  legislation  ; but  your  effort  will  be  fruitless.  You 
risk  much  and  gain  nothing.  The  people  of  Missouri  are 
Americans.  They  have  the  right  of  self-government,  and 
they  will  govern  themselves.  You  may  prepare  chains  for 
them,  but,  like  Samson’s  cords,  they  will  be  as  tow,  and  fall 
asunder  like  ropes  of  sand.  These  people  are  descendants 
of  freemen.  They  are  of  the  old  stock  who  achieved  your 
independence,  and  they  will  be  free.  Do  you  hope  to 
abridge  their  sovereignty?  Their  character  is  a pledge 
that  they  will  not  yield  their  rights. 

Whatever  may  be  our  anxiety  for  universal  freedom,  it 
is  very  certain  that  no  sudden  change  can  be  effected.  To 
attempt  impossibilities  will  only  expose  our  folly.  God 
himself  has  taught  us  to  wait  patiently  the  operations  of 
time,  by  his  own  example,  in  six  days’  employment  in  the 
formation  of  the  world  ; and  while  we  find  sufficient  evil  to 
awaken  all  our  sensibilities,  we  should  remember  that  man 
cannot  renovate  the  world  in  one  day.  In  the  moral  world, 
wre  see  vices  and  crimes ; in  the  religious  world,  perse- 
cutions and  martyrdoms ; in  the  political  world,  despotism 
and  convulsions  ; in  the  physical  world,  earthquakes  and 
tornadoes.  Who  can  renovate  the  heart  of  the  vicious,  and 
chasten  the  thoughts  of  the  wicked  ? Who  can  sustain  the 
martyr  upon  the  cross  ? Who  can  hush  the  tempest  in  the 
political  world,  or  control  the  destinies  of  nature  ? He 
only,  who  holds  the  winds  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand. 
I charge  you,  then,  to  let  patience  have  its  perfect  work ; 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION.  241 

And  do  not  rashly  disturb  the  balance  of  this  harmonious 
political  system.  If  you  do,  the  blood  will  be  upou  your 
own  heads.  I have  unshaken  confidence  in  the  providence 
of  God,  that  he  will,  in  his  goodness,  provide  the  ways  and 
means  of  deliverance  from  this  great  evil,  and  that  he  will 
do  it  without  violence  or  compulsion.  But  we  are  to 
choose  the  time,  and  effect  in  a day  what  cannot  be  accom- 
plished in  years,  without  a miracle  ; and  this  is  to  be  done 
without  respect  to  either  the  sentiments  or  rights  of  our 
neighbors.  Instead  of  satisfying  ourselves  with  the  happy 
condition  in  which  a kind  Providence  has  placed  us,  we  are 
to  aspire,  like  our  first  parents  in  Eden,  to  become  as  gods ; 
and,  for  the  sake  of  giving  law  to  others,  independent  as 
ourselves,  we  are  to  set  the  whole  nation  in  a state  of  com- 
motion. Beware,  lest,  like  them,  you  should  experience  a 
sad  reverse,  and  entail  the  curse  upon  posterity.  We  are 
to  become  constitution-makers,  and  give  both  the  text  and 
commentary.  I was  taught  to  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  the 
Revolutionary  patriots,  vox  populi  vox  Dei,  but  now  the 
maxim  is  too  antiquated  to  be  regarded.  I have  been  a 
disciple  of  the  old  school,  which  taught  us  to  believe  that 
all  power  belonged  to  the  people ; and  have  ever  admired 
the  beautiful  fabric  of  this  Western  empire,  because  it  was 
calculated  to  secure  the  exercise  of  this  power  to  each 
State,  while  it  delegated  to  the  federal  government  a suffi- 
cient portion,  to  provide  for  the  common  safety,  and  secure 
the  harmony  of  its  several  parts ; but  this  harmony  is  now 
to  be  disturbed  ; this  magna  charta  of  our  rights  is  to  be 
broken ; this  fair  fabric  is  to  be  shaken,  to  gratify  the  lust 
of  power;  and  Congress,  deriving  all  its  authority  from  the 
States,  is  to  prescribe  to  the  States  the  limits  of  their  con- 
stitutional prerogative.  I would  not  impeach  the  political 
sagacity  of  this  body  ; but  sueh  is  my  confidence  in  the  vir- 
tue and  talents  of  the  community,  that,  in  my  opinion, 
every  ten  miles  square  in  the  United  States  is  as  competent 
16 


242 


THE  MISSOURI  ..QUESTION. 


as  the  whole  collected  wisdom  of  the  nation  to  frame  a con- 
stitution. Competent  or  not,  the  people  of  Missouri  ha^e 
the  right,  and  they  must  exercise  it  without  any  restriction 
which  is  not  common  to  all  the  States.  If  you  begin  to 
prescribe  restrictions,  you  may  pursue  the  course  without 
limitation  or  control.  You  may  prescribe  the  qualifications 
of  electors  and  candidates;  the  powers  and  organization 
of  every  branch  of  their  government,  till  self-government  is 
lost,  and  their  liberty  is  but  an  empty  name.  The  doctrine, 
sir,  is  alarming.  But  one  security  from  its  baleful  influence 
is  in  the  independence  of  the  people.  They  will  not  swh- 
mit.  It  is  not  the  question  whether  the  thing  required  is 
right  or  wrong  in  itself,  but  whether  you  have  the  right  to 
impose  it.  The  principle  of  taxation,  or  the  amount  levi~d, 
had  no  influence  in  bringing  on  the  American  Revolution  ; 
but  the  right  of  Parliament,  in  which  the  colonies  had  no 
representation,  to  impose  the  tax.  They  persisted,  ano  a 
bloody  war  ensued  ; and  the  decision  was  in  favor  of  thA 
side  where  justice  was. 

I exhort  to  moderation  and  justice.  Look  at  the  starving 
poor  in  England.  Hear  the  clanking  chains  of  despotism 
throughout  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa.  The  cries  of  op- 
pression are  heard  in  every  region,  and  the  cause  of  injured 
humanity  rends  every  American  bosom.  But  will  our  com- 
miseration justify  our  interference  ? Shall  we  become  a 
nation  of  knight-errants,  and  involve  the  country  in  war 
with  all  the  rest  of  the  world  to  establish  free  government 
in  other  quarters  of  the  globe?  We  may  pity  other  na- 
tions, but  we  have  no  right  to  intermeddle  with  their  poli- 
cies ; and  to  attempt  it  would  be  the  extreme  of  madness. 
Still  more  cautious  should  we  be  about  intermeddling  with 
the  right  of  property  and  self-government  in  Missouri.  In 
so  doing,  you  will  jeopardize  the  harmony  of  the  Union, 
which  may  possibly  ultimate  in  i civil  war.  Recollect, 
Greece  was  destroyed  bv  division,  and  Rome  by  consolida- 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION". 


243 


tion.  Then  let  us  be  content  with  onr  inheritance,  and 
profit  by  their  example;  lest,  in  our  zeal  to  perform  what 
we  cannot  accomplish,  we  one  day  become  what  Greece 
and  Rome  now  are. 

I will  readily  admit,  sir,  that  the  non-slaveholding  States 
are  composed  of  brave  and  virtuous  citizens,  but  merit  does 
not  exclusively  attach  to  them.  We  will  not  shrink  from 
the  comparison,  whether  we  look  at  periods  or  principles — 
the  Revolution,  the  late  war  ; internal  policy,  republican 
principles,  moral  character,  or  religious  practice.  The 
authors  of  this  discussion  are  welcome  to  all  the  advantages 
they  can  derive  from  the  comparison.  There  is  no  essential 
difference  of  character  among  all  the  different  sections 
of  this  community.  A general  coincidence  of  sentiment 
strengthens  their  mutual  attachments,  which  I trust  th.v 
demon  of  discord  will  never  be  able  to  dissolve.  Ye*,  sir, 
the  Union  is  founded  in  the  affections  of  the  people, 
cemented  by  the  blood  of  our  fathers,  endeared  by  common 
suffering,  and  secured  by  common  interest.  Future  gene- 
rations, remembering  that  their  fathers  mingled  theii  blood 
in  one  common  cause,  and  their  ashes  in  one  commi  n urn, 
will  still  feel  like  brothers,  when  ambition  shall  have  wasted 
its  efforts ; and  the  blessings  of  the  confederacy  .shall  bo 
long  enjoyed  after  oblivion  shall  have  drawn  a vail  over  the 
disturbers  of  its  peace.  The  history  of  other  nations  is 
before  us,  and  they  should  be  marked  as  beacons  of  warn- 
ing. Remember  the  unhappy  record  of  the  ten  tribes  of 
Israel,  and  the  miserable  consequences,  whenever  you  con- 
template the  effects  of  local  jealousies.  Before  we  are 
aware,  we  are  too  apt  to  excite  our  own  passions  jis  well  as 
others,  and  rush  precipitately  into  measures  which  will 
leave  us  to  regret  our  folly  when  it  shall  be  too  late  to 
retract. 

But  another  cause  of  complaint  is  recently  brought  to 
light.  In  the  ratio  of  representation  and  direct  taxation. 


244 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION". 


three-fifths  of  the  slaves  are  enumerated.  The  Constitution 
was  framed  by  patriots  of  the  Revolution  ; and  the  prin- 
ciples of  that  event  were  too  deeply  engraven  upon  their 
minds  to  suffer  them  to  separate  the  ratio  of  representation 
from  that  of  taxation ; and,  by  mutual  compromise,  the 
ratio  was  settled  by  all  the  States  as  we  now  have  it.  Rut, 
it  the  organization  of  this  branch  of  the  legislature,  there 
is  a total  departure  from  this  rule.  Upon  what  principle 
does  the  little  State  of  Delaware  send  two  members  to  this 
body,  and  the  great  State  of  New  York  send  no  more  ? 
This  also  was  settled  upon  a principle  of  compromise.  It 
is,  that  State  sovereignties  may  be  here  represented,  and, 
in  the  confederacy  the  States,  are  all  equal.  The  federal 
character  is  here  preserved  ; and,  in  the  other  House,  the 
representative  character.  In  one  house  every  State  is 
equal,  in  the  other  every  individual ; and  none  would  wish 
it  otherwise. 

In  what  way,  I would  ask,  is  the  just  principle  of  repre- 
sentation violated,  by  taking  three-fifths  of  the  slaves  into 
the  calculation  ? The  answer  is  given,  because  slaves  have 
no  political  rights.  And  what  political  rights  have  the 
female  and  the  minor  ? And  how  many  free  persons  of  full 
age  are  excluded  from  the  exercise  of  the  elective  franchise 
in  the  different  States  ? Yet  all  are  taken  into  the  enume- 
ration as  the  basis  for  representation.  Why  ? Because 
they  are  also  taken  into  the  enumeration  for  taxation  ; so 
are  three-fifths  of  the  slaves  taken  into  the  enumeration  as 
the  basis  for  taxation,  and  of  course  for  representation.  In 
the  one  case  no  complaint  is  made,  but  in  the  other  injustice 
js  urged.  Every  argument,  true  or  false,  must  be  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  subject;  which,  in  the  end,  will  effect 
nothing,  and  is,  in  fact,  worse  than  nothing. 

There  is  another  article  of  the  Constitution,  which  is 
thought  to  have  some  relation  to  this  intended  restriction. 
“Congress  shall  guarantee  to  each  State  a republican  form 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


245 


of  government;”  and  here  we  have  a controlling  powe. 
Suppose,  then,  you  erect  your  standard  of  republicanism, 
and  revise  the  constitutions  of  the  different  States.  Vir- 
ginia requires  a freehold  qualification  in  the  voter.  Dictate 
to  her  better  principles.  Most  of  the  other  States  require 
some  property  qualifications.  Change  their  constitutions, 
and  proclaim  annual  elections  and  universal  suffrage,  such 
as  we  have  in  Kentucky,  where  every  person  is  equal ; and 
the  beggar  (if  such  a being  can  be  found  there)  has  as 
good  a vote  as  the  man  of  wealth.  Attempt  these  things, 
and  you  will  have  enough  to  do  ; but  you  may  accomplish 
it  as  easily,  and  upon  as  fair  Constitutional  ground,  as  the 
restriction  upon  Missouri.  The  fact  is,  we  shall  be  better 
employed  in  confining  ourselves  to  the  great  objects  of 
the  confederacy,  and  leave  every  State  to  manage  its  own 
concerns. 

Philosophers  have  said  much  upon  the  theory  of  colors, 
and  especially  upon  the  variety  of  complexion  in  the  human 
species.  It  is  contended  by  some  that  the  black  man,  the 
red  man,  and  the  white  man,  originally  sprang  from  different 
ancestors ; by  others  that  all  sprang  from  one  common 
stock  ; and  the  last  theory  is  supported  by  revelation.  It 
is  further  believed,  that  the  difference  of  color,  from  the 
slightest  shade  to  the  deepest  black,  is  owing  principally  to 
climate,  and  the  different  degrees  of  heat  to  which  they  have 
been  for  many  ages  exposed.  To  whatever  cause  it  may  be 
owing,  the  difference  does  now  exist ; and  it  is  as  well  known 
that  a universal  prejudice  also  exists  as  to  the  color  of  the 
African,  which  in  a great  measure  deprives  him  of  the  bless- 
ings of  freedom  when  emancipated.  Till  this  prejudice  is 
eradicated,  or  till  the  Ethiopian  shall  change  his  skin,  his 
freedom  is  nominal  in  every  part  of  the  United  States.  If 
not,  where  is  the  black  man  of  the  north  ? Like  the  red 
man,  he  is  nearly  extinct.  If  your  humanity  has  conquered 
your  prejudice,  till  you  know  no  color,  where  are  your 


246 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


magistrates,  your  governors,  your  representatives,  of  the 
black  population  ? You  proclaim  them  equal,  but  you  are 
still  their  lawgivers ; we  see  none  of  them  in  the  national 
legislature,  nor  hear  of  them  in  your  State  governments. 
The  prejudices  which  these  distinctions  of  color  create  can- 
not be  overcome  in  a moment,  and  we  should  contentedly 
wait  that  gradual  change  in  the  moral  world — that  slow  but 
certain  progress  of  improvement,  which  will  one  day  give 
universal  liberty  to  the  race  of  Adam. 

One  insurmountable,  I may  say  omnipotent  barrier  with 
us,  against  this  sudden  revolution,  is,  the  number  of  our 
slaves.  It  would  produce  convulsions  and  derangements, 
destructive  to  the  morals  and  safety  of  the  whole  com- 
munity. But  liberty  has  charms,  and  so  has  music ; but 
was  there  anything  captivating  in  Nero’s  harp  while  Rome 
was  enveloped  in  (lames  ? Let  the  safety  of  the  common- 
wealth be  first  secured,  and  then  extend  the  blessings  of 
freedom  as  time  shall  prepare  them  to  enjoy  it,  with  advan- 
tage to  themselves  and  tranquillity  to  the  State. 

The  sages  of  our  Revolution  were  not  so  conscientious 
as  to  make  emancipation  a sine  qua  non  to  a Union  against 
British  encroachments  ; nor  did  they  ever  think  of  interfer- 
ing in  the  subject  of  slavery  with  the  States.  That  was 
left  with  God  and  the  consciences  of  those  interested. 
Slaveholders  and  others  could  march  under  one  standard  in 
the  common  cause.  Washington  and  Greene  could  move 
in  perfect  concert  of  action  ; Hancock  and  Jefferson  could 
act  in  harmony  of  council,  without  one  discordant  passion 
on  this  account.  Nor  did  the  wise  framers  of  the  Consti- 
tution essay  to  give  it  the  slightest  touch.  Even  a part  of 
the  New  England  States  voted  against  the  power  of  Con- 
gress to  check  the  importation  of  slaves  for  twenty  years. 
But  now,  when  all  political  animosities  are  subsiding,  and 
every  angry  passion  is  sinking  to  rest,  the  golden  apple 
must  be  thrown.  Political  power  and  personal  aggrandize- 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


247 


ment  must  arise,  and  light  the  torch  of  discord  among  this 
happy,  this  virtuous,  this  affectionate  people.  Keep  in 
mind  the  theory  of  our  general  government.  We  have  no 
original  powers.  We  act  as  an  agent  would  under  a spe- 
cial power  of  attorney;  and  the  Constitution  is  the  charter 
by  which  we  act.  The  powers  delegated  are  there  defined. 
Those  not  expressly  delegated  are  reserved  to  the  State-, 
or  to  the  people.  To  transcend  the  powers  prescribed  bv 
the  Constitution,  is  to  violate  the  rights  of  the  States  am1 
of  the  people.  Congress  have  no  power  delegated  to 
them  by  the  Constitution  to  impose  a restriction  like  this 
upon  any  of  the  States  ; nor  can  it  be  pretended,  unless  by 
that  kind  of  legerdemain  construction  which  would  make 
Congress  omnipotent,  and  render  the  sovereignties  a mere 
shadow,  that  this  text  book  of  the  American  statesman 
contains  a single  clause  even  hinting  at  the  delegation  of 
this  power.  The  imposition  of  this  restriction  upon  Mis- 
souri, then,  would  be  a violation  of  the  Constitution ; and, 
however  plausible  the  pretext,  the  principle  is  equally  dan- 
gerous to  the  Union. 

I have  entertained  doubts  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  or- 
ganization of  this  body  in  the  tenure  of  office.  Six  years 
I have  thought  too  long  ; that  the  member  did  not  feel 
sufficient  responsibility  to  the  elective  principle.  But,  on 
this  interesting  occasion,  I can  see  great  evils,  which  we 
have  it  in  our  power  more  effectually  to  prevent,  and  thus 
give  proof  to  the  world  that  we  are  worthy  of  this  trust. 
The  examples  of  Greece,  of  Carthage,  and  of  Rome  show 
us  the  danger  of  being  moved  by  a momentary  excitement 
of  popular  passion  ; but,  when  time  for  sober  reasoning 
shall  have  elapsed,  the  popular  sentiment,  the  result  of  dis- 
passionate deliberation,  must  prevail.  This  body  is  pecu- 
liarly formed  for  that  deliberation  ; and  when  I behold 
around  me  those  who  have  gone  through  the  gradation 
of  every  office  of  honor  and  of  trust — who  have  withstood 


248 


TIIE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


every  trial,  and  now  bear  upon  their  hoary  heads  the 
crown  of  honor — elected  by  their  fellow-citizens  to  this  sta- 
tion, I feel  a confidence  that  they  will  sustain  the  cause  of 
the  Union.  Then,  when  this  excitement  shall  subside,  the 
deliberate,  settled  seutiment  of  the  people  will  justify  your 
decision.  But,  should  your  determination  to  effect  this  re- 
striction so  completely  overcome  every  consideration  of 
right,  that  you  deem  it  paramount  to  all  constitution  and 
compact,  you  will  pay  dearly  for  the  object.  Victory  will 
be  worse  than  a defeat.  You  will  violate  the  plighted  faith 
of  the  nation,  under  the  sacred  sanction  of  your  own  laws, 
which  have  heretofore  held  out  an  invitation  to  the  citizens 
of  every  section  of  the  country  to  embrace  the  advantages 
which  this  newly-acquired  wilderness  promised.  You  will 
violate  the  solemn  stipulations  of  the  treaty  by  w'hich  this 
territory  was  gained.  You  will  violate  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  that  sacred  instrument  which  once  had 
power  to  compose  the  jarring  interests  and  passions  of 
the  nation ; the  offspring  of  our  former  suffering ; the 
pledge  of  our  future  harmony  ; and  the  standing  bulwark 
of  our  liberty  and  independence.  You  will  alarm  the  fears 
and  destroy  the  confidence  of  the  States,  by  abridging  their 
prerogatives  and  usurping  their  rights.  You  will  check 
the  progress  of  humanity,  and  strengthen  the  chains  of  the 
captive.  You  will  prolong  the  time  of  slavery,  and  aug- 
ment its  evils.  You  will  divide  the  sentiments  and  affec- 
tions by  hills  and  dales,  by  rivers  and  mountains,  aid  by 
imaginary  lines,  drawm  only  for  convenience,  and  not  for  hos- 
tility. You  will  excite  to  action  every  discordant  passion 
of  the  soul ; produce  jargon,  animosity,  and  strife,  which 
may  eventuate  in  murder  and  devastation.  And  shall  I 
proceed  to  enumerate  the  crimes  which  belong  to  this  black 
catalogue?  The  heart  sickens,  the  tongue  falters,  and  T 
forbear.  Ponder  well  your  doings;  let  wisdom  and  justice 
direct  you  ; confine  your  measures  to  the  legitimate  object 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


2-1  9 


of  the  confederacy,  and  we  are  still  a united  and  happy 
people. 

Mr.  Pinckney,  of  South  Carolina,  the  only  member  of 
Congress  who  was  a member  of  the  Federal  Convention, 
addressed  the  chair  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Chairman  : It  was  not  my  intention  at  first,  and  it  is 
not  now  my  wish,  to  rise  on  this  important  question  ; one 
that  has  been  so  much  and  so  ably  discussed  iu  both 
branches  of  Congress ; one  that  has  been  the  object  of  so 
many  meetings  of  the  people  of  the  different  States,  and  of 
so  many  resolutions  of  the  legislatures,  and  instructions  to 
their  members  : but  I am  so  particularly  circumstanced  that 
it  is  impossible  to  avoid  it.  Coming  from  one  of  the  most 
important  of  the  Southern  States,  whose  interests  are 
deeply  involved,  and  representing  here  a city  and  district 
which,  I believe,  export  more  of  our  native  products  than 
any  other  in  the  Union  ; having  been  also  a member  of  the 
Old  Congress,  some  important  acts  of  which  are  brought 
into  question  on  this  occasion,  and,  above  all,  being  the 
only  member  of  the  General  Convention  which  formed 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  now  on  this  floor, 
and  on  ivhose  acts  rest  the  great  question  in  controversy 
how  far  you  are  or  are  not  authorized  to  adopt  this  measure, 
it  will,  from  all  these  circumstances,  be  seen  that  it  is  im- 
possible for  me  to  avoid  requesting  your  permission  to  state 
some  observations  in  support  of  the  vote  I shall  give  on  a 
question,  certainly,  the  most  important  that  can  come  be- 
fhre  Congress  ; one,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  on  which  may 
depend,  not  only  the  peace,  the  happiness,  and  the  best  in- 
terests, but,  not  improbably,  the  existence  of  that  Union 
which  has  been,  since  its  formation,  the  admiration  of  the 
world,  and  the  pride,  the  glory,  and  the  boast  of  every 
American  bosom  that  beats  within  it. 

In  performing  this  solemn  duty,  I trust  I shall  do  it  with 
that  deference  to  the  opinions  of  others  which  it  is  always 


250 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


my  duty  to  show  on  this  respectable  floor,  and  that  I shall 
be  as  short  as  the  nature  of  the  subject  will  permit,  and 
completely  moderate.  Indeed,  in  questions  of  this  impor- 
tance, moderation  appears  to  me  to  be  indispensable  to  the 
discovery  of  truth.  I,  therefore,  lament  extremely  that 
so  much  warmth  has  been  unnecessarily  excited,  and  shall, 
in  the  remarks  I may  make,  studiously  do,  what  I con- 
ceive the  decorum  of  debate  ought  to  enjoin  upon  every 
member. 

At  the  time  I left,  or  sailed  from  the  city  I here  repre- 
sent, scarcely  a word  was  said  of  the  Missouri  question ; 
no  man  there  ever  supposed  that  one  of  such  magnitude 
was  before  you.  I,  therefore,  have,  since  the  serious  aspect 
this  subject  has  assumed,  received  numerous  inquiries  on  it, 
and  wishes  to  know  my  opinion  as  to  the  extent  and  con- 
sequences of  it.  I have  candidly  replied,  that,  so  far  as 
respects  the  regaining  an  ascendency  on  both  the  floors 
of  Congress  ; of  regaining  the  possession  of  the  honors  and 
offices  of  our  government;  aud  of,  through  this  measure, 
laying  the  foundation  of  forever  securing  their  ascendency, 
and  the  powers  of  the  government,  the  Eastern  and  North- 
ern States  had  a high  and  deep  interest.  That,  so  far  as 
respects  the  retaining  the  honors  and  offices  and  the  powers 
of  the  government,  and  the  preventing  the  establishment 
of  principles  to  interfere  with  them,  the  Southern  and 
Western  States  had  equal  interest  with  the  Northern.  But 
that,  when  we  consider  to  what  lengths  the  right  of  Con- 
gress to  touch  the  question  of  slavery  at  all  might  reach,  it 
became  one,  indeed,  of  tremendous  import. 

Among  the  reasons  which  have  induced  me  to  rise,  one  is 
to  express  my  surprise.  Surprise,  did  I say  ? I ought 
rather  to  have  said,  my  extreme  astonishment,  at  the  as- 
sertion I heard  made  on  both  floors  of  Congress,  that,  in 
forming  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  particu- 
larly that  part  of  it  which  respects  the  representation  on  this 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


251 


floor,  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States,  or,  as  they  are  now 
called,  the  non-slaveholding  States,  have  made  a great  con- 
cession to  the  Southern,  in  granting  them  a representation- 
of  three-fifths  of  their  slaves ; that  they  saw  the  concession 
was  a very  great  and  important  one  at  the  time,  but  that 
they  had  no  idea  it  would  so  soon  have  proved  itself  of 
such  consequence ; that  it  would  so  soon  have  proved  itself 
to  be  by  far  the  most  important  concession  that  had  been 
made.  They  say,  that  it  was  wrung  from  from  them  by 
their  affection  to  the  Union,  and  their  wish  to  preserve  it 
from  dissolution  or  disunion  ; that  they  had,  for  a long 
time,  lamented  they  had  made  it ; and  that  if  it  was  to  do 
over,  no  earthly  consideration  should  again  tempt  them  to 
agree  to  so  unequal  and  so  ruinous  a compromise.  By 
this,  I suppose,  Mr.  Chairman,  is  meant  that  they  could 
have  had  no  idea  that  the  Western  and  Southern  States 
would  have  grown  with  the  rapidity  they  have,  and  filled  so 
many  of  the  seats  iu  this  House  : in  other  words,  that  they 
would  so  soon  have  torn  the  sceptre  from  the  East. 

It  was,  sir,  for  the  purpose  of  correcting  this  great  and 
unpardonable  error;  unpardonable,  because  it  is  a wilful 
one,  and  the  error  of  it  is  well-known  to  the  ablest  of  those 
who  make  it ; of  denying  the  assertion,  and  proving  that 
the  contrary  is  the  fact,  and  that  the  concession,  on  that 
occasion,  was  from  the  Southern  and  not  the  Northern 
States,  that,  among  others,  I have  risen. 

It  is  of  the  greatest  consequence  that  the  proof  I am 
about  to  give  should  be  laid  before  this  nation  ; for,  as  the 
inequality  of  representation  is  the  great  ground  on  which 
the  Northern  and  Eastern  States  have  always,  and  now 
more  particularly  and  forcibly  than  ever,  raised  all  their 
complaints  on  this  subject,  if  I can  show  and  prove  that 
they  have  uot  even  a shadow  of  right  to  make  pretenses  or 
complaints  ; that  they  are  as  fully  represented  as  they  ought 
to  be  ; while  we,  the  Southern  members,  are  unjustly  de- 


252 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


prived  of  any  representation  for  a large  and  important  part 
of  our  population,  more  valuable  to  the  Union,  as  can  be 
shown,  than  any  equal  number  of  inhabitants  in  the  North- 
ern and  Eastern  States  can,  from  their  situation,  climate, 
and  productions,  possibly  be.  If  I can  prove  this,  I think 
I shall  be  able  to  show  most  clearly  the  true  motives  which 
have  given  rise  to  this  measure  ; to  strip  the  thin,  the  cob- 
web veil  from  it,  as  well  as  the  pretended  ones  of  religion, 
humanity,  and  love  of  liberty  ; and  to  show,  to  use  the  soft 
terms  the  decorum  of  debate  obliges  me  to  use,  the  extreme 
want  of  modesty  in  those  who  are  already  as  fully  repre- 
sented here  as  they  can  be,  to  go  the  great  lengths  they  do 
in  endeavoring,  by  every  effort  in  their  power,  public  and 
private,  to  take  from  the  Southern  and  Western  States, 
which  are  already  so  greatly  and  unjustly  deprived  of  an 
important  part  of  the  representation,  a still  greater  share ; 
to  endeavor  to  establish  the  first  precedent,  which  extreme 
rashness  and  temerity  have  ever  presumed,  that  Congress 
has  a right  to  touch  the  question  and  legislate  on  slavery ; 
thereby  shaking  the  property  in  them,  in  the  Southern  and 
Western  States,  to  its  very  foundation,  and  making  an 
attack  which,  if  successful,  must  convince  them . that  the 
Northern  and  Eastern  States  are  their  greatest  enemies; 
that  they  are  preparing  measures  for  them  which  even 
Great  Britain,  in  the  heat  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  and 
when  all  her  passions  were  roused  by  hatred  and  revenge 
to  the  highest  pitch,  never  ventured  to  inflict  upon  them. 
Instead  of  a course  like  this,  they  ought,  in  my  judgment, 
sir,  to  be  highly  pleased  with  their  present  situation  ; that 
they  are  fully  represented,  while  we  have  lost  so  great  a 
share  of  our  representation  ; they  ought,  sir,  to  be  highly 
pleased  at  the  dexterity  and  managament  of  their  members 
in  the  Convention,  who  obtained  for  them  this  great  advan- 
tage ; and,  above  all,  with  the  moderation  and  forbearance 
with  which  the  Southern  and  Western  States  have  always 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


253 


borne  their  bitter  provocations  od  this  subject,  and  now 
bear  the  open,  avowed,  and,  by  many  of  the  ablest  men 
among  them,  undisguised  attack  on  our  most  valuable  rights 
and  properties. 

At  the  commencement  of  our  revolutionary  struggle  with 
Great  Britain,  all  the  States  had  slaves.  The  New  England 
States  had  numbers  of  them,  and  treated  them  in  the  same 
manner  the  Southern  did.  The  Northern  and  Middle 
States  had  still  more  numerous  bodies  of  them,  although 
not  so  numerous  as  the  Southern.  They  all  entered  into 
that  great  contest  with  similar  views,  properties,  and  de- 
signs. Like  brethren,  they  contended  for  the  benefit  of  the 
whole,  leaving  to  each  the  right  to  pursue  its  happiness  in 
its  own  way. 

They  thus  nobly  toiled  and  bled  together,  really  like 
brethren  ; and  it  is  a most  remarkable  fact  that,  notwith- 
standing in  the  course  of  the  Revolution  the  Southern 
States  were  continually  overrun  by  the  British,  and  that 
every  negro  in  them  had  an  opportunity  of  leaving  their 
owners,  few  did ; proving  thereby  not  only  a most  remark- 
able attachment  to  their  owners,  but  the  mildness  of  the 
treatment,  from  which  their  affection  sprang.  They  then 
were,  as  they  still  are,  as  valuable  a part  of  our  population 
to  the  Union  as  any  other  equal  number  of  inhabitants. 
They  were,  in  numerous  instances,  the  pioneers,  and  in  all, 
the  laborers  of  your  armies.  To  their  hands  were  owing 
the  erection  of  the  greatest  part  of  the  fortifications  raised 
for  the  protection  of  our  country  ; some  of  which,  particu- 
larly Fort  Moultrie,  gave,  at  that  early  period  of  the  in- 
experience and  untried  valor  of  our  citizens,  immortality 
to  American  arms;  and  in  the  Northern  States  numerous 
bodies  of  them  were  enrolled  into  and  fought,  by  the  sides 
of  the  whites,  the  battles  of  the  Revolution. 

Things  went  on  in  this  way  until  the  period  of  our 
attempt  to  form  our  first  national  compact,  the  confedera- 


254 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


tion,  in  which  the  equality  of  vote  was  preserved,  and  the 
first  squeamishness  on  the  subject  of  not  using,  or  even 
alluding  to  the  word  slavery,  or  making  it  a part  of  out 
political  machinery,  was  shown.  In  this  compact,  the  value 
of  the  lands  and  improvements  wras  made  the  rule  for  appor- 
tioning the  public  burdens  and  taxes.  But  the  Northern 
and  Eastern  States,  who  are  always  much  more  alive  to  their 
interests  than  the  Southern,  found  that  their  squeamishness 
was  inconsistent  with  their  interest ; and,  as  usual,  made 
the  latter  prevail.  They  found  it  was  paying  too  dear  for 
their  qualms  to  keep  their  hand  from  the  slaves  any  longer. 
At  their  instance,  and  on  their  motion,  as  will  appear  by 
a reference  to  the  journals  of  the  old  Congress,  the  making 
lands  the  rule  was  changed,  and  people,  including  the  whites 
and  three-fifths  of  other  descriptions,  was  adopted.  It  was 
not  until  in  1181,  that  the  confederation  was  adopted  by, 
and  became  binding  on  all  the  States.  This  miserable, 
feeble  mockery  of  government  crawled  on  until  1185,  when, 
from  New  York’s  refusing  to  agree  with  all  the  States  to 
grant  to  Congress  the  impost,  (I  am  not  sure,  but  I believe 
she  stood  alone  in  the  refusal,)  the  States  determined  no 
longer  to  put  up  with  her  conduct,  and  absolutely  rebelled 
against  the  government.  The  first  State  that  did  so  was 
New  Jersey,  who,  by  a solemn  act  passed  in  all  its  proper 
forms  by  her  legislature  and  government,  most  positively 
and  absolutely  refused  any  longer  to  obey  the  requisitions 
of  Congress,  or  to  pay  another  dollar.  As  there  was  no 
doubt  other  States  w'ould  soon  follow  their  example — as 
Pennsylvania  shortly  did — Congress,  aware  of  the  mischiefs 
which  must  arise  if  a dissolution  took  place  of  the  Union 
before  a new  government  could  be  formed,  sent  a deputation 
of  their  own  body  to  address  the  legislature  of  New  Jersey, 
of  which  I was  appointed  chairman.  We  did  repair  there, 
and  addressed  them,  and  I had  the  honor  and  happiness  to 
carry  back  with  me  to  Congress  the  repeal  of  her  act  by 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


255 


New  Jersey — a State,  during  the  whole  of  the  revolution- 
ary war,  celebrated  for  her  patriotism,  and  who,  in  this 
noble  self-denial,  and  forgetfulness  of  injuries  inflicted  by 
New  York  on  her  and  the  rest  of  the  Union,  exhibited  a dis- 
interestedness and  love  of  Union  which  did  her  the  highest 
honor. 

The  revolt  of  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  accelerated 
the  new  Constitution.  On  a motion  from  Virginia  the 
Convention  met  at  Philadelphia,  where  as  you  will  find 
from  the  journals,  we  were  repeatedly  in  danger  of  dis- 
solving without  doing  any  thing  ; that  body  being  equally 
divided  as  to  large  and  small  States,  and  each  having  a vote, 
and  the  small  States  insisting  most  pertinaciously,  for  near 
six  weeks,  on  equal  power  in  both  branches — nothing  but 
the  prudence  and  forbearance  of  the  large  States  saved  the 
Union.  A compromise  was  made,  that  the  small  States 
and  large  should  be  equally  represented  in  the  Senate,  and 
proportionally  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  I am  now 
arrived  at  the  reason  for  which  I have,  sir,  taken  the  liberty 
to  make  these  preliminary  remarks.  For,  as  the  true  motive 
for  all  this  dreadful  clamor  throughout  the  Union,  this 
serious  and  eventful  attack  on  our  most  sacred  and  valuable 
rights  aud  properties,  is,  to  gain  a fixed  ascendency  in  the 
representation  in  Congress;  and,  as  the  only  flimsy  excuse 
under  which  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States  shelter  them- 
selves, is,  that  they  have  been  hardly  treated  in  the  repre- 
sentation in  this  House,  and  that  they  have  lost  the  benefit 
of  the  compromise  they  pretend  was  made,  and  which  I shall 
most  positively  deny,  and  show  that  nothing  like  a compro- 
mise was  ever  intended. 

By  all  the  public  expenses  being  borne  by  indirect  taxes, 
and  not  direct,  as  was  expected  ; if  I can  show  that  all  their 
pretensions  and  claims  are  wholly  untrue  and  unfounded,  and 
that  while  they  are  fully  represented,  they  did,  by  force,  or 
something  like  it,  deprive  us  of  a rightful  part  of  our  repre- 


256 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


sentation,  I shall  then  be  able  to  take  the  mask  from  all  their 
pretended  reasons  and  excuses,  and  show  this  unpardonable 
attack,  this  monster,  in  its  true  and  uncovered  hideousness. 

Long  before  our  present  public  distresses  had  convinced 
even  the  most  ignorant  and  uninformed  politician  of  the 
truth  of  the  maxim  I am  about  to  mention,  all  the  well-in- 
formed statesmen  of  our  TJnion  knew  that  the  only  true  mode 
for  a large  agricultural  and  commercial  country  to  flourish 
was,  never  to  import  more  than  they  can  pay  for  by  the  ex- 
port of  their  own  native  products  ; that,  if  they  do,  they  will 
be  sure  to  plunge  themselves  into  the  distressing  and  dis- 
graceful situation  this  country  is  in  at  present. 

If,  then,  this  great  political  truth  or  maxim,  or  call  it  what 
you  please,  is  most  unquestionable,  let  us  now  see  who  sup- 
ports this  government ; who  raises  your  armies,  equips  your 
navies,  pays  your  public  debt,  enables  you  to  erect  forts, 
arsenals,  and  dock-yards.  Who  nerves  the  arm  of  this  gov- 
ernment, and  enables  you  to  lift  it  for  the  protection,  the 
honor,  and  extension  of  our  beloved  republic  into  regions 
where  none  but  brutes  and  savages  have  before  roamed  ? 
Who  are  your  real  sinews  in  war,  and  the  best — I had  almost 
said,  nearly  the  only — sinews  and  sources  of  your  commerce 
in  peace  ? I will  presently  tell  you. 

If,  as  no  doubt,  you  will  in  future  confine  your  imports 
to  the  amount  of  your  exports  of  native  products,  and  all 
your  revenue  is  to  be,  as  it  is  now,  raised  by  taxes  or  duties 
on  your  imports,  I ask  you  who  pays  the  expense,  and  who, 
in  fact,  enables  you  to  go  on  with  your  government  at  all, 
and  prevents  its  wheels  from  stopping  ? I will  show  you 
by  the  papers  which  I hold  in  my  hand.  This,  sir,  is  your 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury’s  report,  made  a few  weeks  ago, 
by  which  it  appears  that  all  the  exports  of  native  products, 
from  Maine  to  Pennsylvania  inclusive,  for  the  last  year, 
amounted  to  only  about  eighteen  millions  of  dollars ; while 
those  among  the  slaveholding  States,  to  the  southward  of 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


257 


Pennsylvania,  amounted  to  thirty-two  millions  or  thereabouts, 
thereby  enabling  themselves,  or  acquiring  the  right,  to  im- 
port double  as  much  as  the  others,  and  furnishing  the  trea- 
sury with  double  the  amount  the  Northern  and  Eastern 
States  do.  And  here  let  me  ask,  from  whence  do  these  ex- 
ports arise  ? By  whose  hands  are  they  made  ? I answer, 
entirely  by  the  slaves  ; and  yet  these  valuable  inhabitants, 
without  whom  your  very  government  could  not  go  on,  and 
the  labor  of  two  or  three  of  whom  in  the  Southern  States  is 
more  valuable  to  it  than  the  labor  of  five  of  their  inhabitants 
in  the  Eastern  States,  the  States  owning  and  possessing 
them  are  denied  a representation  but  for  three-fifths  on  this 
floor,  while  the  whole  of  the  comparatively  unproductive 
inhabitants  of  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States  are  fully 
represented  here.  Is  it  just — is  this  equal  ? And  yet  they 
have  the  modesty  to  complain  of  the  representation,  as  un- 
just and  unequal  ; and  that  they  have  not  the  return  made 
them  they  expected,  by  taxing  the  slaves,  and  making  them 
bear  a proportion  of  the  public  burdens.  Some  writers  on 
political  economy  are  of  opinion  that  the  representation  of 
a State  ought  always  to  be  equally  founded  on  population 
and  taxation.  It  is  my  duty  to  believe  that  these  are  the 
true  criterions  ; for  my  own  State  (South  Carolina)  having, 
in  her  House  of  Representatives,  124  members,  62  of  them 
are  apportioned  by  the  white  population,  and  62  on  taxa- 
tion ; thus  representing  the  contributions  of  our  citizens  in 
every  way,  whether  arising  from  services  or  taxes. 

Before  I proceed  to  the  other  parts  of  this  question,  I 
have  thus  endeavored  to  give  a new  view  of  the  subject  of 
representation  in  the  House  ; to  show  how  much  more  the 
Eastern  and  Northern  States  are  represented  than  the  South- 
ern and  Western  ; how  little  right  the  former  have  to  com- 
plain, and  how  unreasonable  it  is,  that  while  to  continue  the 
balance  of  representation  in  the  Senate,  we  consent  to  give 
admission  to  Maine,  to  make  up  for  Missouri,  they  most 
17 


258 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


unconscionably  require  to  have  both,  and  thus  add  four  to 
the  number  now  preparing,  most  cruelly,  to  lift  the  arm  of 
the  government  against  the  property  of  the  Southern  and 
Western  States. 

If  I have  succeeded,  as  I hope  I have,  in  proving  the  un- 
reasonableness of  the  complaints  of  the  Eastern  and  North- 
ern States  on  the  subject  of  representation,  it  would,  I sup- 
pose, appear  extraordinary  to  the  people  of  this  nation  that 
this  attempt  should  now  be  made,  even  if  Congress  should 
be  found  to  possess  the  right  to  legislate  or  interfere  in  it. 
But  if,  in  addition  to  this,  it  should  be  in  my  power  to  show 
that  they  have  not  the  most  distant  right  to  interfere,'  or  to 
legislate  at  all  upon  the  subject  of  slavery,  or  to  admit  a 
State  in  any  way  whatever  except  on  terms  of  perfect 
equality  ; that  they  have  no  right  to  make  compacts  ou  the 
subject,  and  that  the  only  power  they  have  is  to  see  that  the 
government  of  the  State  to  be  admitted  is  a republican  one, 
having  legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary  powers,  the  rights 
of  conscience,  jury,  a habeas  corpus,  and  all  the  great  lead- 
ing principles  of  our  republican  systems,  well  secured,  and  to 
guarantee  them  to  it : if  I shall  be  able  to  do  this,  of  course 
the  attempt  must  fail,  and  the  amendment  be  rejected. 

The  supporters  of  the  amendment  contend  that  Congress 
have  the  right  to  insist  on  the  prevention  of  involuntary 
servitude  in  Missouri ; and  found  the  right  on  the  ninth 
section  of  the  first  article,  which  says,  “ the  migration  or 
importation  of  such  persons  as  the  States  now  existing  may 
think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Con- 
gress prior  to  the  year  1808,  but  a tax  or  duty  may  be  im- 
posed on  such  importation  not  exceeding  ten  dollars.” 

In  considering  this  article,  I will  detail,  as  far  as  at  this 
distant  period  is  possible,  what  was  the  intention  of  the 
Convention  that  formed  the  Constitution  in  this  article. 
The  intention  was,  to  give  Congress  a power,  after  the  year 
1808,  to  prevent  the  importation  of  slaves  either  by  land  or 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION-. 


259 


water  from  other  countries.  The  word  import,  includes 
both,  and  applies  wholly  to  slaves.  Without  this  limita- 
tion, Congress  might  have  stopped  it  sooner  under  their 
general  power  to  regulate  commerce  ; and  it  was  an  agreed 
point,  a solemnly  understood  compact,  that,  on  the  Southern 
States  consenting  to  shut  their  ports  against  the  importa- 
tion of  Africans,  no  power  was  to  be  delegated  to  Congress, 
nor  were  they  ever  to  be  authorized  to  touch  the  question  of 
slavery ; that  the  property  of  the  Southern  States  in  slaves 
was  to  be  as  sacredly  preserved,  and  protected  to  them,  as 
that  of  land,  or  any  other  kind  of  property  in  the  Eastern 
States  were  to  be  to  their  citizens. 

The  term,  or  word,  migration,  applies  wholly  to  free 
whites ; in  its  constitutional  sense,  as  intended  by  the 
Convention,  it  means  “voluntary  change  of  servitude,” 
from  one  country  to  another.  The  reasons  of  its  being 
adopted  and  used  in  the  Constitution,  as  far  as  I can  recol- 
lect, were  these  : that  the  Constitution  being  a frame  of 
government,  consisting  wholly  of  delegated  powers,  all 
power,  not  expressly  delegated,  being  reserved  to  the  people 
or  the  States,  it  was  supposed,  that,  without  some  express 
grant  to  them  of  power  on  the  subject,  Congress  w’ould  not 
be  authorized  ever  to  touch  the  question  of  migration  hither, 
or  emigration  to  this  country,  however  pressing  or  urgent 
the  necessity  for  such  a measure  might  be ; that  they  could 
derive  no  such  power  from  the  usages  of  nations,  or  even 
the  laws  of  war;  that  the  latter  would  only  enable  them  to 
make  prisoners  of  alien  enemies,  which  would  not  be  suffi- 
cient, as  spies  or  other  dangerous  emigrants,  who  were  not 
alien  enemies,  might  enter  the  country  for  treasonable  pur- 
poses, and  do  great  injury ; that,  as  all  governments  pos- 
sessed this  power,  it  was  necessary  to  give  it  to  our  own,  which 
could  alone  exercise  it,  and  where,  on  other  and  much 
greater  points,  we  had  placed  unlimited  confidence  ; it  was, 
therefore,  agreed  that,  in  the  same  article,  the  word  migra- 


260 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


tion  should  be  placed ; and  that,  from  the  year  1808,  Con- 
gress should  possess  the  complete  power  to  stop  either  or 
both,  as  they  might  suppose  the  public  interest  required  ; 
the  article,  therefore,  is  a negative  pregnant,  restraining  for 
twenty  years,  and  giving  the  power  after. 

The  reasons  for  restraining  the  power  to  prevent  migra- 
tion hither  for  twenty  years,  were,  to  the  best  of  my  recol- 
lection, these  : That  as,  at  this  time,  we  had  immense  and 
almost  immeasurable  territory,  peopled  by  not  more  than 
two  millions  and  a half  of  inhabitants,  it  was  of  very  great 
consequence  to  encourage  the  emigration  of  able,  skillful, 
and  industrious  Europeans.  The  wise  conduct  of  William 
Penu,  and  the  unexampled  growth  of  Pennsylvania,  were 
cited.  It  was  said,  that  the  portals  of  the  only  temple  of 
true  freedom  now  existing  on  earth  should  be  thrown  open 
to  all  mankind  ; that  all  foreigners  of  industrious  habits 
should  be  welcome,  and  none  more  so  than  men  of  science,  and 
such  as  may  bring  to  us  arts  we  are  unacquainted  with,  or  the 
means  of  perfecting  those  in  which  we  are  not  yet  sufficiently 
skilled — capitalists  whose  wealth  may  add  to  our  commerce 
or  domestic  improvements ; let  the  door  be  ever  and  most 
affectionately  open  to  illustrious  exiles  and  sufferers  in  the 
cause  of  liberty  ; in  short,  open  it  liberally  to  science,  to 
merit,  and  talents,  wherever  found,  and  receive  and  make 
them  your  own.  That  the  safest  mode  would  be  to  pursue 
the  course  for  twenty  years,  and  not,  before  that  period,  put 
it  at  all  into  the  power  of  Congress  to  shut  it ; that,  by  that 
time,  the  Union  would  be  so  settled,  and  our  population 
would  be  so  much  increased,  we  could  proceed  on  our  own 
stock,  without  the  farther  accession  of  foreigners  ; that  as 
Congress  were  to  be  prohibited  from  stopping  the  importa- 
tion of  slaves  to  settle  the  Southern  States,  as  no  obstacle 
was  to  be  thrown  in  the  way  of  their  increase  and  settle- 
ment for  that  period,  let  it  be  so  with  the  Northern  and 
Eastern,  to  which,  particularly  New  York  and  Philadelphia, 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


261 


it  was  expected  most  of  the  emigrants  would  go  from 
Europe  : and  it  so  happened,  for,  previous  to  the  year  1808, 
more  than  double  as  many  Europeans  emigrated  to  these 
States,  as  of  Africans  were  imported  into  the  Southern 
States. 

I have,  sir,  smiled  at  the  idea  of  some  gentlemen,  in  sup- 
posing that  Congress  possessed  the  power  to  insert  this 
amendment,  from  that  which  is  given  in  the  Constitution  to 
regulate  commerce  between  the  several  States  ; and  some 
have  asserted,  that  under  it,  they  not  only  have  the  power  to 
inhibit  slavery  in  Missouri,  but  even  to  prevent  the  migra- 
tion of  slaves  from  one  State  to  another — from  Maryland  to 
Virginia.  The  true  and  peculiarly  ludicrous  manner  in  which 
a gentleman  from  that  State  lately  treated  this  part  of  the 
subject,  will,  no  doubt,  induce  an  abandonment  of  this  pre- 
tended right ; nor  shall  I stop  to  answer  it  until  gentlemen 
can  convince  me  that  migration  does  not  mean  change  of 
residence  from  one  country  or  climate  to  another,  and  that 
the  United  States  are  not  one  country,  one  nation,  or  one 
people.  If  the  word  does  mean  as  I contend,  and  we  are 
one  people,  I will  then  ask  how  it  is  possible  to  migrate 
from  one  part  of  a country  to  another  part  of  the  same 
country  ? Surely,  sir,  when  such  straws  as  these  are  caught 
at  to  support  a right,  the  hopes  of  doing  so  must  be  slender 
indeed.  I will  only  mention  here,  as  it  is  perfectly  within 
my  recollection,  that  the  power  was  given  to  Congress  to 
regulate  the  commerce  by  water  between  the  States  ; and  it 
being  feared,  by  the  Southern,  that  the  Eastern  would,  when- 
ever they  could,  do  so  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  Southern 
States,  you  will  find,  in  the  6th  section  of  the  1st  article, 
Congress  are  prevented  from  taxing  exports,  or  giving 
preference  to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  another,  oi 
obliging  vessels  bound  from  one  State  to  clear,  enter,  oi 
pay  duties  in  another;  which  restrictions,  more  clearly  than 


262 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


anything  ;lse,  prove  what  the  power  to  regulate  commerce 
among  th  3 several  States  means. 

The  gentlemen,  being  driven  from  these  grounds,  come 
then  to  what  they  call  their  great  and  impregnable  right — . 
that,  under  the  third  section  -of  the  fourth  article,  it  is 
declared,  new  States  may  be  admitted  into  this  Union  by 
the  Congress ; and  that,  by  the  latter  clause  of  the  same 
section,  the  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of,  and 
make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations,  respecting  the  terri- 
tory or  other  property  belonging  to  the  United  States. 

By  the  first  clause  they  contend,  that  Congress  has  an 
ample  and  unlimited  command  over  the  whole  subject;  that 
they  can  reject  the  admission  of  a State  altogether,  or  can 
admit  one,  and  impose  such  conditions,  or  make  such  com- 
pacts with  a State  as  they  may  please ; and  that,  unless  a 
State  accepts  the  offers  they  may  make,  they  may  refuse  her 
admission.  Let  us  first  inquire  what  the  laws  of  nations 
call  a State.  Yattel  says,  “Nations  or  States  are  bodies 
politic  : societies  of  men  united  together  to  procure  their 
mutual  safety  and  advantage  by  means  of  their  union.  Such 
a society  has  its  affairs  and  interests  ; it  deliberates  and 
resolves  in  common,  and  thus  becomes  a moral  person,  hav- 
ing an  understanding  and  a will  peculiar  to  itself,  and  is 
susceptible  of  obligations  and  laws.”  This  is  what  he  calls 
a State.  What  do  we  call  one  ? A territory  inhabited  by 
a people  living  under  a government  formed  by  themselves, 
which  government  possesses,  in  a republican  form,  all  the 
legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary  powers  necessary  to  the 
protection  of  the  lives,  liberties,  characters  and  properties 
of  their  citizens,  or  which  they  can  exercise  for  their  benefit, 
and  have  not  delegated  to  the  general  government,  for  the 
common  defense  and  general  welfare  of  a union,  composed 
of  a number  of  States,  whose  rights  and  political  powers  are 
all  perfectly  equal ; that,  among  these,  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant is,  that  of  deciding  for  themselves  what  kind  of  per- 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


263 


sons  shall  inhabit  their  country,  no  others  being  either  so 
capable  or  fit  to  judge  on  this  very  important  point  as 
respects  their  private  happiness  as  themselves,  as  they  alone 
are  either  to  suffer  or  benefit  from  the  injudicious  or  wise 
choice  they  may  make  ; that  as  the  other  States  possess 
completely  this  power,  Missouri  has  the  same  right  ; that, 
if  she  was  inclined,  she  could  not  give  to  Congress  the  right 
to  decide  for  her,  nor  could  the  latter  accept  it ; that  all  the 
inhabitants  of  Missouri  being  against  the  prohibition,  to 
insist  on  it,  is  to  entirely  put  it  out  of  her  power  to  enter 
the  Union,  and  to  keep  her  in  a state  of  colonial  tyranny ; 
that,  if  you  can  exercise  this  right,  where  will  you  stop  ? 
May  you  not  dictate  to  her  the  nature  of  the  government 
she  shall  have  ? may  you  not  give  her  a plural  executive,  a 
legislature  for  six  and  judges  for  one  year  ? If  you  say 
there  shall  be  no  slavery,  may  you  not  say  there  shall  be  no 
marriage  ? may  you  not  insist  on  her  being  different  in 
every  respect  from  the  others  ? Sir,  if  you  are  determined 
to  break  the  Constitution  in  this  important  point,  you  may 
even  proceed  to  do  so  in  the  essences  of  the  very  form  you 
are  bound  to  guarantee  to  them.  Instead  of  endeavoring  to 
lessen  or  injure  the  force  and  spirit  of  the  State  govern- 
ments, every  true  friend  of  his  country  ought  to  endeavor, 
as  far  as  he  can,  to  strengthen  them  ; for,  be  assured,  it 
will  be  to  the  strength  and  increase  of  our  State  govern- 
ments, more  than  any  other,  that  the  American  Republic 
will  owe  its  firmness  and  duration. 

The  people  of  Europe,  from  their  total  ignorance  of  our 
country  and  government,  have  always  augured  that  its  great 
extent,  when  it  came  to  be  thickly  peopled,  would  occasion 
its  separation  ; this  is  still  the  opinion  of  all,  and  the  hope 
of  many  there  ; whereas,  nothing  can  be  more  true  in  our 
politics  than  that,  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  the  State 
governments,  the  strength  and  solidity  of  the  federal 
Government  are  augmented ; so  that  with  twenty  or  twenty- 


264 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


two  governments,  we  shall  be  much  more  secure  from  dis- 
union than  with  twelve,  and  ten  times  more  so  than  if  we 
were  a single  or  consolidated  one.  By  the  individual  Stales 
exercising,  as  they  do,  all  the  powers  necessary  for  munici- 
pal or  individual  purposes — trying  all  questions  of  property, 
and  puuishing  all  crimes  not  belonging,  in  either  case,  to 
the  federal  courts,  and  leaving  the  general  government  at 
leisure  and  in  a situation  solely  to  devote  itself  to  the  exer- 
cise of  the  great  powers  of  war  and  peace,  commerce,  and 
our  connections  with  foreigners,  and  all  the  natural  authori- 
ties delegated  by  the  Constitution,  it  eases  them  of  a vast 
quantity  of  business  that  would  very  much  disturb  the 
exercise  of  their  general  powers.  Nor  is  it  clear  that  any 
single  government,  in  a country  so  extensive,  could  transmit 
the  full  influence  of  the  laws  necessary  to  local  purposes 
through  all  its  parts  ; whereas,  the  State  governments, 
having  all  a convenient  surrounding  territory,  exercise  these 
powers  with  ease,  and  are  always  at  hand  to  give  aid  to 
the  federal  tribunals  and  officers  placed  among  them  to 
execute  their  laws,  should  assistance  be  necessary.  Another 
great  advantage  is,  the  almost  utter  impossibility  of  erect- 
ing among  them  the  standard  of  faction,  to  any  alarming 
degree,  against  the  Union,  so  as  to  threaten  its  dissolution, 
or  produce  changes  in  any  but  a constitutional  way.  It  is 
well  known  that  faction  is  always  much  more  easy  and 
dangerous  in  small  than  large  countries ; and,  when  we  con- 
sider that,  to  the  security  afforded  by  the  extent  of  our 
territory  are  to  be  added,  the  guards  of  the  State  legisla- 
tures, which  being  selected  as  they  are,  and  always  the  most 
proper  organs  of  their  citizens’  opinions  as  to  the  measures 
of  the  general  government,  stand  as  alert  amd  faithful  sentinels 
to  disapprove,  as  they  did  in  the  times  that  are  past,  such  acts 
as  appear  impolitic  or  unconstitutional,  orto  approve  and  sup- 
port, as  they  have  frequently  done  since,  such  as  were  patri- 
otic or  praiseworthy.  With  such  guards  it  is  impossible  fur 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTIONS 


2G5 


any  serious  opposition  to  be  made  to  the  federal  government 
on  slight  or  trivial  grounds  ; nor,  through  such  an  extent  of 
territory  or  number  of  States,  would  any  but  the  most  tyran- 
nical or  corrupt  acts  claim  serious  attention  ; and,  whenever 
they  occur,  we  can  always  safely  trust  to  a sufficient  number 
of  the  States  arraying  themselves  in  a manner  to  produce 
by  their  influence  the  necessary  reforms  in  a peaceable  and 
legal  mode.  With  twenty-four  or  more  States  it  will  be 
impossible,  sir,  for  four  or  five  States,  or  any  comparatively 
small  number,  ever  to  threaten  the  existence  of  the  Union. 
They  will  be  easily  seen  through  by  the  other  eighteen  or 
twenty,  and  frowned  into  insignificancy  and  submission  to 
the  general  will,  in  all  cases  where  the  proceedings  of  the 
federal  government  are  approved  by  them.  And,  even  in 
cases  where  doubts  may  arise  as  to  the  wisdom  or  policy  of 
their  measures,  all  factious  measures  will  be  made  to  wait 
constitutional  redress  in  the  peaceable  manner  prescribed 
by  the  Constitution. 

Without  the  instrumentality  of  the  States,  in  a country 
so  large  and  free,  and  with  their  government  at  a great  dis- 
tance from  its  extremities,  there  would  be  considerable 
danger  of  faction  ; but  at  present  there  is  very  little,  and, 
as  the  States  increase,  the  danger  will  lessen;  and  it  is  this 
admirable  expanding  principle  or  system,  if  I may  use  the 
term,  which,  while  it  carries  new  States  and  governments 
into  our  forests,  and  increases  the  population  and  resources 
of  the  Union,  must  unquestionably,  at  the  same  time,  add 
to  its  means  to  resist  and  repress  with  ease  all  attacks  of 
foreign  hostility  or  domestic  faction.  It  is  this  system, 
which  is  not  at  all  understood  in  Europe  and  too  little 
among  ourselves,  that  will  long  keep  us  a strong  and  united 
people ; nor  do  I see  any  question,  but  the  one  which 
respects  slavery,  that  can  ever  divide  us. 

The  question  being  the  admission  of  a new  State,  I hope 
these  remarks  will  be  considered  as  in  point,  as  they  go  to 


266 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION 


show  the  importance  of  the  State  governments,  and  how 
really  and  indeed  indispensably  they  are  the  pillars  of  the 
federal  government,  and  how  anxious  we  should  be  to 
strengthen  and  not  to  impair  them,  to  make  them  all  the 
strong  and  equa.  supporters  of  the  federal  system. 

With  respect  to  Louisiana,  Congress  have  already,  by 
their  acts,  solemnly  ratified  the  treaty  which  extends  to  all 
the  States,  created  out  of  that  purchase,  the  benefits  of  an 
admission  into  the  Union  on  equal  terms  with  the  old 
States ; they  gave  to  Louisiana  first,  and  afterwards  to 
Missouri  and  Arkansas,  territorial  governments,  in  all  of 
which  they  agreed  to  the  admission  of  slaves.  Louisiana 
was  incorporated  into  the  Union,  allowing  their  admission; 
Missouri  was  advanced  to  the  second  grade  of  territorial 
government,  without  the  prohibition  of  slavery  : thus,  for 
more  than  sixteen  years,  Missouri  considered  herself  pre- 
cisely in  the  situation  of  her  sister  Louisiana,  and  many 
thousands  of  slaves  have  been  carried  by  settlers  there. 
To  deny  it  then,  now,  will  operate  as  a snare,  unworthy  the 
faith  of  this  government.  What  is  to  be  done  ? Are  the 
slaves  now  there  to  be  manumitted,  or  their  masters  obliged 
to  carry  them  away,  break  up  all  their  settlements,  and,  in 
this  unjust  and  unexpected  manner,  to  be  hurled  into  ruin  ? 
If  wre  are  to  pay  no  respect  to  the  Constitution,  or  to 
treaties,  are  we  to  pay  no  respect  to  our  own  laws,  by  which 
the  faith  of  the  nation  has,  for  sixteen  years,  been  solemnly 
pledged,  that  no  prohibition  would  take  place,  as  to  slavery, 
in  those  States  ? I have  said  so  much,  to  show  how  im- 
portant it  is  to  the  firmness  and  duration  of  the  American 
Union,  to  preserve  the  States  and  their  government  in  the 
full  possession  of  all  the  rights  secured  by  the  Constitution. 
****** 

Having  thus,  I trust,  proved  clearly  that  you  have  no 
right  to  adopt  this  inhibition  of  slavery,  but  are  forbid  to 
do  so  by  the  Constitution,  as  well  as  by  the  treaty,  I ought 
perhaps  to  stop  here ; but  there  are  some  other  points 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


267 


which  I ought  not  to  pass  unnoticed.  One  of  these  is  the 
ordinance  of  July,  1787,  passed  by  the  old  Congress,  at  the 
period  of  the  sitting  of  the  Convention  in  Philadelphia, 
for  forming  the  Constitution,  by  which  that  body  (the  old 
Congress)  undertook  to  form  a code  for  the  future  settle- 
ment, government,  and  admission  into  the  Union,  of  all  the 
Territory  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio,  ceded  by  Virginia 
to  the  United  States  in  1785  ; which  cession  has  so  often 
been  read  to  the  House  in  this  discussion.  On  this  subject, 
I beg  leave  to  remark  that,  by  the  confederation  of  the 
United  States,  the  old  Congress  had  no  power  whatever 
but  that  of  admitting  new  States,  provided  nine  States 
assented.  By  this,  it  is  most  unquestionable,  that  no  num- 
ber of  States  under  nine  had  any  right  to  admit  new 
States.  Of  course,  it  was  the  intention  of  the  confedera- 
tion that,  on  so  important  a measure  as  the  establishment 
of  governments  for,  and  the  admission  of,  new  States, 
Congress  should  never  possess  the  power  to  act,  un- 
less nine  States  were  represented  in  that  body  at  the 
time  of  their  doing  so.  This  ordinance,  therefore,  in  pre- 
scribing the  forms  of  government,  as  they  respected  legisla- 
tive, executive,  and  judiciary  powers,  in  establishing  bills 
of  rights,  and  times  and  terms  of  their  admission  into  the 
Union,  and  inhibiting  servitude  therein,  is  chargeable  with 
ingratitude  and  usurpation.  It  is  chargeable  with  ingrati- 
tude, when  we  reflect  that  the  cession  of  the  great  tract  of 
country — this  rising  empire  of  freemen — was  gratuitously, 
and  with  noble  disinterestedness  and  patriotism,  made  by 
Virginia,  that  the  passing  of  an  ordinance  which  contained 
a provision  which  could  not  but  go  to  prevent  the  admission 
of  Virginians  there,  as  they  could  not  move  there  with 
their  slaves,  was  a most  ungracious  and  ungrateful  return 
to  that  State  for  her  liberality,  and  could  not  but  meet  with 
the  disapprobation  of  this  nation. 

I have  already  mentioned  the  reasons  to  show,  that  uu* 


268 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


less  they  had  nine  States  present,  the  old  Congress  iad 
no  power  to  admit  new  States,  and  of  course  no  power  to 
prescribe  the  forms  of  government,  bills  of  rights,  or 
terms  or  times  of  admissions,  benefits,  or  exclusions,  with  a 
less  number  than  nine. 

If  there  were  not  other  strong  reasons  attending  the 
passing  this  ordinance,  those  already  mentioned  are  suffi- 
cient to  show  that  it  is  a nullity  ; that  it  never  had  or  could 
have  had  a binding  force  ; that  the  present  Congress  has 
not  any  constitutional  right  to  confirm  that  part  of  it 
which  respects  the  exclusion  of  involuntary  servitude  from 
that  Territory;  and  that  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Indiana, 
add  Illinois,  having  by  their  constitutions  voluntarily  ex- 
cluded it,  possess  the  power  whenever  they  please  to  alter 
their  constitutions,  and  admit  servitude  in  any  way  they 
think  proper. 

Let  us,  sir,  recollect  the  circumstances  the  old  Congress 
were  in  at  the  time  they  passed  this  ordinance  : they  had 
dwindled  almost  to  nothing;  the  Convention  had  then  been 
three  months  in  session  ; it  was  universally  known  a Con- 
stitution was  in  its  essentials  agreed  to  : and  the  public 
were  daily  expecting  (what  soon  happened)  the  promulga- 
tion of  a new  form  of  government  for  the  Union.  I ask, 
sir,  was  it,  under  these  circumstauce,  proper  for  a feeble, 
dwindled  body,  that  had  wholly  lost  the  confidence  of  the 
nation,  and  which  was  then  waiting  its  suppression  by  the 
people — a feeble,  inefficient  body,  in  which  only  seven  or 
eight  States  were  represented,  the  whole  of  which  consisted 
of  but  seventeen  or  eighteen  men — a number  smaller  than 
your  large  committees ; a body  literally  in  the  very  agonies  of 
political  death  ; — was  it,  sir,  even  decent  in  them  (not  to  say 
lawful  or  constitutional)  to  have  passed  an  ordinance  of  such 
importance  ? I do  not  know  or  recollect  the  names  of  the 
members  who  voted  for  it,  but  it  is  to  be  fairly  presumed 
they  could  uot  have  been  among  the  men  who  possessed  tin 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


269 


greatest  confidence  of  the  Union,  or  at  that  very  time 
they  would  have  been  members  of  the  Convention  sitting  at 
Philadelphia.  But  I am  perhaps  taking  up  your  time 
unnecessarily  on  this  subject,  and  I shall  proceed  to  others. 

A great  deal  has  been  said  on  the  subject  of  slavery — 
that  it  is  an  infamous  stain  and  blot  on  the  States  that 
hold  them  ; not  only  degrading  the  slave,  but  the  master, 
and  making  him  unfit  for  republican  government ; that  it 
is  contrary  to  religion  and  the  law  of  God ; and  that  Con- 
gress ought  to  do  every  thing  in  their  power  to  prevent  its 
extension  among  the  new  States. 

Now,  sir,  I should  be  glad  to  know  how  any  man  is  ac- 
quainted with  what  is  the  will  or  the  law  of  God  on  this 
subject.  Has  it  ever  been  imparted  either  to  the  old  or 
new  world?  Is  there  a single  line  in  the  Old  or  New  Tes- 
tament, either  censuring  or  forbidding  it  ? I answer  with- 
out hesitation,  no.  But  there  are  hundreds  speaking  of  and 
recognizing  it.  Hagar,  from  whom  millions  sprang,  was  an 
African  slave,  bought  out  of  Egypt  by  Abraham,  the  father 
of  the  faithful  and  the  beloved  servant  of  the  Most  High  ; 
and  he  had,  besides,  three  hundred  and  eighteen  male 
slaves.  The  Jews  in  the  time  of  the  theocracy,  and  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  had  all  slaves ; at  that  time  there  was 
no  nation  without  them  If  we  are  to  believe  that  this 
world  was  formed  by  a great  and  omnipotent  Being ; that 
nothing  is  permitted  to  exist  here  but  by  his  will,  and  then 
throw  our  eyes  throughout  the  whole  of  it,  we  should  form 
an  opinion  very  different  indeed  from  that  asserted,  that 
slavery  was  against  the  law  of  God. 

Let  those  acquainted  with  the  situation  of  the  people  of 
Asia  and  Africa,  where  not  one  man  in  ten  can  be  called  a 
freeman,  or  whose  situation  can  be  compared  with  the  com- 
forts of  our  slaves,  throw  their  eyes  over  them,  and  carry 
them  to  Russia,  and  f'om  the  north  to  the  south  of  Europe, 
where,  except  Great  Britain,  nothing  like  liberty  exists. 


270 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


Let  them  view  the  lower  classes  of  their  inhabitants,  by  far 
the  most  numerous  of  the  whole;  the  thousands  of  beggars 
that  infest  their  streets,  more  than  half  starved,  half  naked, 
and  in  the  most  wretched  state  of  human  degradation.  Let 
him  then  go  to  England;  the  comforts,  if  they  have  any,  of 
the  lower  classes  of  whose  inhabitants  are  far  inferior  to 
those  of  onr  slaves.  Let  him,  when  there,  ask  of  their 
economists,  what  are  the  numbers  of  millions  daily  fed  by 
the  hand  of  charity ; and,  when  satisfied  there,  then  let  him 
come  nearer  home,  and  examine  into  the  situation  of  the 
free  negroes  now  resident  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia, 
and  compare  them  with  the  situation  of  our  slaves,  and  he 
will  tell  you  that,  perhaps,  the  most  miserable  and  degraded 
state  of  human  nature  is  to  be  found  among  the  free  negroes 
of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  most  of  whom  are  fugitives 
from  the  Southern  States,  received  and  sheltered  in  those 
States.  I did  not  go  to  New  York,  but  I did  to  Philadel- 
phia, and  particularly  examined  this  subject  while  there. 
I saw  their  streets  crowded  with  idle,  drunken  negroes,  at 
every  corner;  and,  on  visiting  their  penitentiary,  found,  to 
my  astonishment,  that,  out  of  five  hundred  convicts  there 
confined,  more  than  one-half  were  blacks  ; and,  as  all  the 
convicts  throughout  that  State  are  sent  to  that  penitentiary, 
and,  if  Pennsylvania  contains  eight  hundred  thousand  white 
inhabitants,  and  only  twenty-six  thousand  blacks,  of  course 
the  crimes  and  vices  of  the  blacks  in  those  States  are,  com- 
paratively, tw’enty  times  greater  than  those  of  the  whites  in 
the  same  States,  and  clearly  proves  that  a state  of  freedom 
is  one  of  the  greatest  curses  you  can  inflict  on  them. 

From  the  opinions  expressed  respecting  the  Southern 
States  and  the  slaves  there,  it  appears  to  me  most  clear, 
that  the  members  on  the  opposite  side  know  nothing  of  the 
Southern  States,  their  lands,  products,  or  slaves.  Those 
who  visit  us,  or  go  to  the  southward,  find  so  great  a diffe- 
rence that  many  of  them  remain  and  settle  there  I per- 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


271 


fectly  recollect  when,  in  1791,  General  Washington  visited 
South  Carolina,  he  was  so  surprised  at  the  richness,  order, 
and  soil  of  our  country,  that  he  expressed  his  great  as- 
tonishment at  the  state  of  agricultural  improvement  and 
excellence  our  tide-lands  exhibited.  He  said,  he  had  no 
idea  the  United  States  possessed  it.  Had  I then  seen  as 
much  of  Europe  as  I have  since,  I would  have  replied  to 
him,  that  he  would  not  see  its  equal  in  Europe.  Sir,  when 
we  recollect  that  our  former  parent  State  was  the  original 
cause  of  introducing  slavery  iuto  America,  and  that  neither 
ourselves  uor  ancestors  are  chargeable  with  it ; that  it  cannot 
be  got  rid  of  without  ruining  the  country,  certainly  the  pre- 
sent mild  treatment  of  our  slaves  is  most  honorable  to  that 
part  of  the  country  where  slavery  exists.  Every  slave  has 
a comfortable  house,  is  well  fed,  clothed,  and  taken  care 
of;  he  has  his  family  about  him,  and  in  sickness  has  the 
same  medical  aid  as  his  master,  and  has  a sure  and  com- 
fortable retreat  in  old  age,  to  protect  him  against  its  in- 
firmities and  weakness.  During  the  whole  of  his  life  he  is 
free  from  care,  that  canker  of  the  human  heart,  which 
destroys  at  least  one-half  of  the  thinking  part  of  mankind, 
and  from  which  a favored  few,  very  few,  if  indeed  any,  can 
be  said  to  be  free.  Being  without  education,  and  born  to 
obey,  to  persons  of  that  description  moderate  labor  and  dis- 
cipline are  essential.  The  discipline  ought  to  be  mild,  but 
still,  while  slavery  is  to  exist,  there  must  be  discipline.  In 
this  state  they  are  happier  than  they  can  possibly  be  if  free. 
A free  black  can  only  be  happy  where  he  has  some  share 
of  education,  and  has  been  bred  to  a trade,  or  some  kind 
of  business.  The  great  body  of  slaves  are  happier  in  their 
present  situation  than  they  could  be  in  any  other,  and  the 
man  or  men  who  would  attempt  to  give  them  freedom 
would  be  their  greatest  enemies. 

All  the  writers  who  contend  that  the  slaves  increase 
faster  than  the  free  blacks,  if  they  assert  what  is  true,  prove 


272 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


that  the  black,  when  in  the  condition  of  a slave,  is  happier 
than  when  free,  as,  in  proportion  to  the  comfort  xnd  happi- 
ness of  any  kind  of  people,  such  will  be  the  increase  ; and 
the  next  census  will  show  what  has  been  the  increase  of 
both  descriptions,  free  and  slave,  and  will,  I think,  prove 
the  truth  of  these  opinions. 

In  this  discussion  the  question  as  to  the  purchase  of 
Louisiana  has  been  introduced,  and  gives  me  an  opportunity 
to  state  my  opinion  on  the  subject.  So  far  as  my  knowledge 
of  the  facts,  preceding  that  purchase,  enable  me  to  form  an 
opinion,  I pronounce  that  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  planning  the 
purchase,  and  the  gentlemen  who  were  employed  in  nego- 
tiating it,  covered  themselves  with  glory.  The  facts  that 
preceded  that  purchase  were  these:  In  the  year  1186, 
Spain  despatched  a Minister,  named  Gardoqui,  to  this 
country,  instructed  to  offer  to  form  with  us  a treaty  of 
commerce,  which  she  said  was  an  advantageous  one,  if 
we  would,  in  the  same  treaty,  consent  to  give  up  the  navi- 
gation of  that  part  of  the  river  Mississippi  which  ran 
through  the  Spanish  dominions.  This,  sir,  I asserted  011 
this  floor  some  days  ago,  and  now  repeat,  that,  on  this 
treaty  being,  according  to  the  then  routine  of  business, 
referred  to  Mr.  Jay,  then  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs,  he 
did,  to  the  best  of  my  recollection,  report  that  it  would,  in 
his  opinion,  be  expedient  to  adopt  it ; that  seven,  all  of  the 
Eastern  and  Northern  States,  did  vote  for  it,  but  that,  owing 
to  the  Confederation  requiring  that  nine  States  should  be 
necessary  to  form  a treaty,  it  was  at  length  defeated.  If 
any  part  of  the  public  business  in  this  country,  in  which  I 
have  been  engaged,  ever  gave  me  more  pleasure  than  others, 
it  was  the  agency  I had,  in  association  with  an  honorable 
gentleman,  now  high  in  office,  and  in  Washington,  in  pre- 
venting it.  I believe  I may  venture  to  say,  that  it  was 
owing  to  us  the  whole  of  the  Western  country  now  belongs 
to  us,  and  that  the  Mississippi  now  flows  through  American 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION1.  273 

lands,  and  that  the  American  flag  now  waves  alone  on  her 
waters.  I,  therefore,  have  always  felt  more  than  a frater- 
nal— I have  felt,  sir,  a paternal  love  for  this  country.  Nor, 
sir,  is  this  the  only  important  agency  I have  had  in  *he 
affairs  of  this  very  valuable  part  of  our  Union.  It  will  be 
remembered  that,  in  the  year  1802,  the  Intendant  of  New 
Orleans  issued  a proclamation,  shutting  that  port  to  the 
further  reception  and  deposit  of  American  produce,  under 
the  treaty  of  1795,  and  that,  on  his  doing  so,  a ferment  was 
excited  throughout  the  Union,  of  the  most  alarming  nature  ; 
that  war  was  called  for,  both  in  the  Senate  and  out  of  doors, 
which  it  was  difficult  for  all  the  prudence  and  love  of  peace 
of  the  President  to  repress.  Being,  at  that  time,  the 
Minister  of  the  United  States  in  Spain,  I received  instruc- 
tions from  our  government  to  use  every  exertion  in  my 
power,  consistent  with  its  dignity,  to  get  the  deposit 
restored,  which  I fortunately  did,  and  this  affair  led  to  the 
acquisition  of  both  the  river  and  whole  country  in  the  man- 
ner you  know.  At  the  time  I went  to  Europe,  I was  alone 
commissioned  and  authorized  to  treat  for,  and  purchase,  all 
the  part  of  Louisiana,  including  New  Orleans,  to  the  east 
of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Floridas  ; but,  on  arriving  in 
Europe,  I found  Louisiana  had  been  previously  secretly 
sold  to  Bonaparte,  of  which  I informed  Mr.  Jefferson,  and 
lie  took  the  measures  which  accomplished  the  purpose. 

In  pursuing  the  arguments  of  some  gentlemen  on  this 
subject,  I have  omitted  to  notice  one  of  their  arguments 
springing  from  that  part  of  the  third  section  of  the  fourth 
article,  wffiich  says,  “the  Congress  shall  have  the  power  to 
make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  ter- 
ritory, or  other  property  belonging  to  the  United  States,” 
because  this  article  certainly  refers  only  to  the  territorial 
state,  to  which  I have  already  referred,  and  in  which,  I do 
not  hesitate  to  aver,  that,  in  making  such  regulations  for 
the  government  of  the  territory,  they  are  no  more  author- 
18 


274 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


ized  to  inhibit  slavery  in  the  territory,  than  they  are  in  the 
State — for,  if  they  should  have  the  power,  it  would  in- 
directly effect  the  same  thing  ; it  not  being  difficult  to  see, 
that,  when  a territory  has  been,  like  Missouri,  for  sixteen 
years  in  a strict  state  of  territorial  discipline,  prohibiting 
slavery,  when  the  period  arrives  for  her  admission  as  a 
State,  she  will  be  peopled  entirely  by  inhabitants  not  having 
slaves,  and  who  will,  of  course,  insert  the  prohibition  in 
their  constitution. 

It  ought  to  be  remembered,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  the  great- 
est part  of  the  debt  due  for  Louisiana  is  still  unpaid,  and 
that,  if  the  mode  I have  asserted,  by  which  your  treasury 
is  now  furnished,  and  must  be  in  future,  is  true,  then  the 
slaveholding  States  will  have  more  than  half  of  the  pur- 
chase to  pay ; but,  suppose  we  have  only  one-half  of  it  to 
pay,  is  it  not  fair,  is  it  not  just,  that  the  use  of  this  purchase 
should  be  as  open  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  slaveholding, 
as  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  non-slaveholding  States  ? And 
how  can  this  happen,  if  you  say  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Northern  States,  you  may  go  there  with  your  families,  and 
all  your  properties ; but,  if  you,  from  the  Southern  or 
slaveholding  States,  choose  to  go  there,  it  must  be  with- 
out your  slaves,  these  shall  not  go  ? thus  denying  to  these 
the  instruments  of  their  agriculture,  and  the  means  of  their 
comfort,  and  completely  preventing  the  possibility  of  their 
removing.  From  this,  sir,  will  arise  another  evil,  that  of 
the  fall  of  the  value  of  all  the  lands  the  United  States  may 
have  to  sell  in  the  Territories  or  States  from  which  slavery 
is  excluded,  at  least  one-half,  which,  if  the  computations  of 
the  number  of  acres  come  any  thing  near  the  mark,  must 
amount  to  at  least  six  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  to  the 
common  treasury. 

I have  not  condescended  to  notice  the  remark,  that  one 
of  the  evils  of  slavery  is,  the  lessening  and  depreciating  the 
character  of  the  whites  in  the  slaveholding  States,  and  ren- 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


275 


deriug  it  less  manly  and  republican,  and  less  worthy,  than 
in  the  non-slaveholding  States,  because  it  is  not  less  decor- 
ous than  true  ; it  is  refuted  in  a moment  by  a review  of  the 
revolutionary,  and  particularly  the  last  war.  Look  into 
your  histories,  compare  the  conduct  of  the  heroes  and  states- 
men of  the  North  and  South,  in  both  those  wars,  in  the  field 
and  in  the  Senate  ; see  the  monuments  of  valor,  of  wisdom, 
and  patriotism,  they  have  left  behind  them,  and  then  ask  an 
impartial  world,  on  which  side  the  Delaware  lies  the  pre- 
ponderance : they  will  answer  in  a moment,  to  the  South. 

It  will  not  be  a matter  of  surprise  to  any  one,  that  so  much 
anxiety  should  be  shown  by  the  slaveholding  States,  when 
it  is  known  that  the  alarm,  given  by  this  attempt  to  legis- 
late on  slavery,  has  led  to  the  opinion  that  the  very  founda- 
tions of  that  kind  of  property  are  shaken  ; that  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  precedent  is  a measure  of  the  most  alarm- 
ing nature  ; for,  should  succeeding  Congresses  continue  to 
push  it,  there  is  no  knowing  to  what  length  it  may  be 
carried. 

Have  the  Northern  States  any  idea  of  the  value  of  our 
slaves  ? At  least,  sir,  six  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  If 
we  lose  them,  the  value  of  the  lands  they  cultivate  will  be 
diminished  in  all  cases  one-half,  and,  in  many,  they  will 
become  wholly  useless,  and  an  annual  income  of  at  least 
forty  millions  of  dollars  will  be  lost  to  your  citizens ; the 
loss  of  which  will  not  alone  be  felt  by  the  non-slaveholding 
States,  but  by  the  whole  Union  ; for,  to  whom,  at  present, 
do  the  Eastern  States  most  particularly,  and  the  Eastern 
and  Northern  generally,  look  for  the  employment  of  their 
shipping,  in  transporting  our  bulky  and  valuable  products, 
and  bringing  us  the  manufactures  and  merchandises  of 
Europe  ? Another  thing,  in  case  of  these  losses  being 
brought  on  us,  and  our  being  forced  into  a division,  what 
becomes  of  your  public  debt  ? Who  are  to  pay  this,  and 
how  will  it  be  paid  ? In  a pecuniary  view  of  this  subject, 


276 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


therefore,  it  must  ever  be  the  policy  of  the  Eastern  and 
Northern  States  to  continue  connected  with  us.  But,  sir, 
there  is  an  infinitely  greater  call  upon  them,  and  this  is  the 
call  of  justice,  of  affection,  and  humanity.  Reposing  at  a 
great  distance,  in  safety,  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  their 
federal  and  State  rights,  unattacked  in  either,  or  in  their 
individual  rights,  can  they,  with  indifference,  or  ought  they 
to  risk,  in  the  remotest  degree,  the  consequences  which 
this  measure  may  produce.  These  may  be  the  division  of 
this  Union,  and  a civil  war.  Knowing  that  whatever  is 
said  here,  must  get  into  the  public  prints,  I am  unwilling, 
for  obvious  reasons,  to  go  into  the  description  of  the  hor- 
rors which  such  a war  must  produce,  and  ardently  pray 
that  none  of  us  may  ever  live  to  witness  such  an  event. 

If  you  refuse  to  admit  Missouri  without  this  prohibition, 
and  she  refuses  it,  and  proceeds  to  form  a constitution  for 
herself,  and  then  applies  to  you  for  admission,  what  will 
you  do  ? Will  you  compel  them  by  force  ? By  whom,  or 
by  what  force  can  this  be  effected  ? Will  the  States  in  her 
neighborhood  join  in  this  crusade  ? Will  they  who,  to  a 
man,  think  Missouri  is  right,  and  you  are  wrong,  arm  in 
such  a cause  ? Can  you  send  a force  from  the  eastward  of 
the  Delaware  ? The  very  distance  forbids  it ; and  distance 
is  a powerful  auxiliary  to  a country  attacked.  If,  in  the 
days  of  James  II.,  English  soldiers,  under  military  dis- 
cipline, when  ordered  to  march  against  their  countrymen, 
contending  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  disobeyed  the  order,  and 
laid  down  their  arms,  do  you  think  our  free  brethren  on  the 
Mississippi  will  not  do  the  same  ? Yes,  sir,  they  will 
refuse,  and  you  will  at  last  be  obliged  to  retreat  from  this 
measure,  and  in  a manner  that  will  not  add  much  to  the 
dignity  of  your  government. 

I cannot,  on  any  ground,  think  of  agreeing  to  a com- 
promise on  this  subject.  However  we  all  may  wish  to  see 
Missouri  admitted,  as  she  ought,  ou  equal  terms  with  the 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


277 


other  States,  this  is  a very  unimportant  object  to  her,  com- 
pared with  keeping  the  Constitution  inviolate — with  keeping 
the  hands  of  Congress  from  touching  the  question  of  sla- 
very. On  the  subject  of  the  Constitution,  no  compromise 
ought  ever  to  be  made.  Neither  can  any  be  made  on  the 
national  faith,  so  seriously  involved  in  the  treaty  which  gives 
to  all  Louisiana,  to  every  part  of  it,  a right  to  be  incorpo- 
rated into  the  Union  on  equal  terms  with  the  other  States. 

Surely,  sir,  when  we  consider  the  public  distress  of  this 
country,  and  the  necessity  of  union  and  good  humor  to 
repair  our  finances,  and  place  our  commerce  in  that  im- 
proved situation  which  will  give  us  some  hope  of  the  rise  of 
our  products,  such  as  may  have  a tendency  to  relieve  our 
public  and  private  embarrassments,  if  we  had  no  other 
motives  for  it,  certainly  this  should  be  sufficient.  But,  sir, 
there  is  one  of  infinitely  higher  moment.  Do  we  recollect, 
that  we  are  the  only  free  republic  now  in  existence,  and 
that,  probably,  such  existence  can  only  depend  upon  our 
distance  from  Europe,  and  our  union  with  our  present 
numbers  ? It  may  safely  be  calculated  we  have  two  millions 
of  men,  the  greatest  part  of  whom  are  able  to  bear  arms. 

In  case  of  our  continuing  a united  people,  no  attack 
from  Europe,  a distance  of  four  thousand  miles,  could  ever 
be  made  with  the  least  hope  of  success.  From  the  distance, 
all  Europe  could  not  furnish  either  the  men  or  the  means  suffi- 
cient to  divide  or  destroy  this  Union.  If  we  continue  united, 
as  we  have  been,  in  such  an  event,  the  States  would  so  second 
the  general  government,  and  so  nerve  its  arm,  as  to  put  all 
attack  at  defiance.  But,  if  on  this,  or  any  other  occasion, 
this  Union  should  unhappily  divide,  and  from  friends  be- 
come bitter  and  implacable  enemies  to  each  other,  who  shall 
say  what  Europe  may  attempt  ? Mark  what  they  have  done 
among  themselves,  to  subjugate  France,  and  destroy,  in  that 
part  of  the  world,  everything  that  has  the  semblance  of  re- 
publicanism. Yiew  the  league  they  have  formed,  in  which, 


278 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


for  the  first  time,  all  Europe  is  seen  united  as  a single  gov- 
ernment, to  maintain  their  monarchical  forms.  Such  is,  no 
doubt,  their  detestation  of  everything  like  republicanism, 
that,  were  the  United  States  in  Europe,  where  they  could 
be  reached  by  land,  I have  not  the  smallest  doubt,  they 
would  long  since  have  been  attacked,  and  every  attempt 
made  to  reduce  them  to  a monarchy.  We  are  considered, 
sir,  as  an  evil  example  to  the  monarchical  world.  We  are 
considered  as  the  only  repository  of  those  principles  which 
have  lately  appeared  and  flourished  for  a time  in  Europe, 
and  which  it  has  cost  them  so  much  blood  and  treasure  to 
suppress  ; and  should  our  divisions,  from  friends  to  enemies, 
ever  afford  them  an  opportunity  of  striking  at  us,  with  the 
least  probability  of  success,  no  doubt  they  will  do  so. 

I will  not  trespass  further  on  your  patience,  but  thank 
the  committee  for  the  honor  they  have  done  me  by  their 
attention.  I hope  the  great  importance  of  the  subject  will 
be  my  excuse  ; and  that,  considering  the  relation  in  which 
I have  stood  to  the  Western  country  and  the  Mississippi, 
for  the  salvation  of  which,  so  far  as  means  the  keeping  it  an- 
nexed to  this  Union,  as  I have  already  said,  I think  I may 
claim  to  a gentleman,  now  high  in  office,  and  myself,  as 
much  as  any  other  two  can  claim,  the  happiness  of  being 
the  instruments,  and  having  thus,  in  the  early  part  of  my 
life,  labored  with  success  for  the  parent,  I cannot  but  think 
it  a little  extraordinary  that  I should,  at  this  distant  period, 
be  called  upon  to  defend  the  right  of  her  children.  My 
fervent  wish  is,  that  I may  be  able  to  do  it  with  the  same 
success. 

Extract  from  the  speech  of  Mr.  Whitman,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, on  the  Missouri  bill,  which  may  be  found  in  the 
sixteenth  volume  of  Niles’s  Register.  It  was  delivered 
upon  the  occasion  of  a motion  to  apply  the  slavery  restric- 
tion iu  the  Arkansas  territorial  bill : 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


279 


“We  should  consider  that  we  have,  by  our  common  and 
joint  funds,  acquired  a large  tract  of  vacant  territory  west 
of  the  Mississippi  : that  it  is  valuable  to  our  country,  as 
furnishing  a fertile  region  for  the  citizens  of  our  country  to 
resort  to  for  the  purpose  of  bettering  their  condition,  ac- 
quiring property,  and  providing  for  their  children.  The 
two  great  sections  of  the  Union — to  wit,  the  slaveholding 
ind  non-slaveholding  sections — have  an  equal  right  to  its 
enjoyment.  By  permitting  slavery  in  every  part  of  it,  the 
aon-slaveholding  portion  will  be  deprived  of  it ; if  not  en- 
tirely, certainly  in  a very  great  degree.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  the  people  of  the  South  cannot  carry  their  slaves 
with  them  when  they  emigrate,  the  benefit  will  be  equally 
lost  to  them.” 

Extract  from  the  speech  of  Mr.  Shaw,  of  Massachusetts, 
on  the  Missouri  bill,  in  1820. 

“The  opinion  of  mutual  interest,  is  the  chain  which 
binds  these  States  together.  Change  this  opinion,  for  one, 
that  a section  of  this  country  is  hostile  to  the  interest  of 
another,  and  distrust  and  jealousy  ensue  : make  that  hos- 
tility palpable,  and  the  Union  would  not  last  a day.  The 
slaveholding  States,  like  the  non-slaveholding  States,  are 
alive  to  all  questions  that  touch  their  property : and,  how- 
ever humiliating  it  may  be  to  speak  of  human  beings  as 
property,  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  our  country  con- 
sider the  slaves  of  the  South  as  such.  Any  question  cal- 
culated to  affect  the  value,  or  the  right  to  this  species  of 
population,  could  not  but  be  regarded  by  our  countrymen 
of  the  south  with  the  utmost  jealousy.  The  country  west 
of  the  Mississippi  was  purchased  with  the  joint  funds  of 
the  nation  ; all,  therefore,  had  a joint  interest  in  it.  But 
the  amendment  proposed,  by  excluding  slaves,  absolutely 
excluded  the  population  of  all  the  southern  and  a part  of 
the  western  States  from  that  fertile  domain.  This  fur- 


280 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


nished  another  ground  of  distrust  : besides,  it  exhibited  a 
spirit  of  monopoly  altogether  incompatible  with  that  har- 
mony and  good  will  so  essential  in  preserving  the  Union  of 
the  States  ; it  created  a distinction  between  slaveholdiii”: 
and  non-slaveholdiug  States — a distinction  that  loses  none 
of  its  mischievous  quality  from  the  ability  to  trace  it  on  the 
inap  of  our  country.  Who  that  regards  the  union  of  the 
States,  can  contemplate  the  feelings  which  the  agitation  of 
this  question  excited,  without  emotion  ? And  who,  in  re- 
flecting upon  it,  is  not  strongly  reminded  of  the  admonition 
of  the  Father  of  his  Country,  to  ‘ frown  with  indignation 
upon  the  first  dawnings  of  an  attempt  to  array  one  portion 
of  the  inhabitants  of  this  country  against  another’? 

“And,  after  all,  what  has  this  question  to  do  with  the 
principle  of  slavery  ? Our  ancestors  brought  this  unfortu- 
nate race  of  beings  into  our  country  ; they  have  multiplied 
to  an  alarming  extent ; they  are  the  property  of  our  fellow 
citizens,  secured  to  them  by  the  Constitution  and  law's  of 
the  United  States.  Their  number  forbids  the  idea  of  gen- 
eral emancipation.  What,  then,  does  policy  require  in  re- 
lation to  them  ? That  we  should  prevent  the  increase  by 
importation,  by  the  most  rigid  execution  of  the  severest 
penalties.  This  we  are  attempting  ; and  I had  the  pleasure 
of  voting  for  a law  at  the  late  session,  inflicting  the  penalty 
of  death  on  any  one  convicted  of  importing  a slave  into  the 
United  States.  What  does  humanity  demand  ? That  we 
should  confine  them  forever  within  the  present  limits  of  the 
slaveholding  States,  or  suffer  the  master  to  emigrate  with 
his  slaves  into  western  America,  where,  from  the  extent, 
the  fertility  and  productions  of  the  country,  they  must  be 
more  tenderly  treated,  better  fed,  and  in  all  respects  their 
condition  ameliorated.” 

Extract  from  the  speech  of  Mr.  Holmes,  of  Massachu- 
setts, on  the  Missouri  bill — the  same  gentleman  to  whom 


THE  HISSOU.RI  QUESTION. 


281 


Jefferson  addressed  his  celebrated  letter  on  the  Missouri 
question  : 

“ But  this  division,  (upon  the  question  of  slave  terri- 
tory,) he  says,  is  singularly  unfortunate.  It  is  the  only 
subject  in  which  the  slaveholding  States  could  be  made  to 
unite  against  the  rest.  Are  the  general  interests  of  Dela- 
ware more  united  with  those  of  Georgia  than  Pennsylvania  ? 
Are  the  interests  of  Ohio  more  coincident  with  Massachu- 
setts than  Kentucky  ? Sir,  the  hopes  and  prospects  of  the 
north  and  east  are  interwoven  with  the  prosperity  of  the 
south  and  west ; and  yet  we  have  armed  ourselves  against 
them  all.  It  is  not  with  them  a question  of  policy,  of 
political  power,  but  of  safety,  peace,  existence.  They 
consider  it  is  hastening  and  provoking  scenes  of  insurrec- 
tion and  massacre.  Their  jealousy  and  their  sensibility  are 
roused ; and  they  demand  what  motive,  what  inducement, 
you  have  to  this  ? They  are  answered,  ‘ Humanity  !’  In 
the  name  of  humanity,  desist.  She  asks  no  such  sacrifices 
at  her  altar.  Create  jealousies,  heartburnings,  aud  hatred 
— set  brother  against  brother — kindle  the  flames  of  civil 
discord — destroy  the  Union — and  your  liberties  are  gone. 
And  then  where  will  your  slaves  find  the  freedom  which  you 
have  proffered  them  at  the  expense  of  your  own  ?” 

* * * * * * 

“ New  States  may  be  admitted,  and  no  difference  is 
authorized.  The  authority  is  to  admit  or  not,  but  not  to 
prescribe  conditions.  What  would  be  a fair  construction 
of  this  ? Surely  not  that  Congress  might  hold  a territory 
in  a colonial  condition  as  long  as  they  choose,  nor  that  they 
might  admit  a new  State  with  less  political  rights  than 
another,  but  that  the  admission  should  be  as  soon  as  the 
people  needed,  and  were  capable  of  supporting  a State 
government.'’1 — National  Intelligencer,  Feb.  19,  1820. 

Mr.  J.  Barbour,  at  that  time  a Senator  in  Congress 
from  the  State  of  Virginia,  said: 


282 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION. 


“ What,  then,  is  your  power  ? Simply  whether  you  will 
admit  or  refuse.  This  is  the  limit  of  your  power.  And 
even  this  power  is  subject  to  control,  whenever  a Terri- 
tory is  sufficiently  large,  and  its  population  sufficiently 
numerous,  your  discretion  ceases,  and  the  obligation  be- 
comes imperious  that  you  forthwith  admit ; for  I hold 
that,  according  to  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution,  the  people 
thus  circumstanced  are  entitled  to  the  privilege  of  self- 
government." — National  Intelligencer,  March  18,  1820. 


CHAPTER  VIIL 


OPINIONS  OF  MADISON,  JEFFERSON  AND  HARRISON. 

Mr.  Madison  to  President  Monroe. — Extracts  from  a let- 
ter dated  Montpelier,  Feb.  23 d,  1820. 

“I  received  yours  of  the  19th,  on  Monday.  * * * * 
The  pinch  of  the  difficulty  in  the  case  stated,  seems  to  be  in 
words  “ forever,”  coupled  with  the  interdict  relating  to  the 
territory  north  of  latitude  36°  30'.  If  the  necessary  import 
of  these  words  be,  that  they  are  to  operate  as  a condition 
on  future  States  admitted  into  the  Union,  and  as  a restric- 
tion on  them  after  admission,  they  seem  to  encounter,  in- 
directly, the  arguments  which  prevailed  in  the  Senate  for 
an  unconditional  admission  of  Missouri.  I must  conclude, 
therefore,  from  the  assent  of  the  Senate  to  the  words,  after 
the  strong  vote,  on  constitutional  grounds,  against  the  re- 
striction on  Missouri,  that  there  is  some  other  mode  of 
explaining  them  in  their  actual  application. 

As  to  the  right  of  Congress,  to  apply  such  a restriction 
during  the  territorial  period,  it  depends  on  the  clause  es- 
pecially providing  for  the  management  of  those  subordinate 
establishments. 

On  one  side  it  naturally  occurs,  that  the  right  being  given 
from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  and  in  suspension  of  the 
great  principle  of  self-government,  ought  not  to  be  ex- 
tended further,  nor  continued  longer,  than  the  occasion 
might  fairly  require. 

On  the  other  side,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  constitu- 
tional phrase  “to  all  rules,”  &c.,  as  expounded  by  uniform 

(283) 


284  OPINIONS  OF  MADISON,  JEFFERSON,  ETC. 

practice,  is  somewhat  of  a ductile  nature,  and  leaves  much 
to  legislative  discretion.  The  question  to  be  decided  seems 
to  be — 

“ 1.  Whether  a territorial  restriction  be  an  assumption 
of  illegitimate  power  ; or, 

“ 2.  A misuse  of  legitimate  power  ; and  if  the  latter  only, 
whether  the  injury  threatened  to  the  nation  from  an  acqui- 
escence in  the  misuse,  or  from  a frustration  of  it,  be  the 
greater. 

“ On  the  first  point,  there  is  certainly  room  for  difference 
of  opinion  ; though  for  myself,  I must  own  that  I have  always 
leaned  to  the  belief  that  the  restriction  was  not  within  the 
true  scope  of  the  Constitution. 

In  reply  to  a letter  from  Mr.  Monroe,  on  the  Missouri 
question  he  said  : “ The  question  to  be  decided  seem  to 
be — 

“ 1.  Whether  a territoral  restriction  be  an  assumption 
of  illegitimate  power  ; or, 

“ 2 A misuse  of  legitimate  power;  and  if  the  latter  only, 
whether  the  injury  threatened  to  the  nation  from  an  acqui- 
escence in  the  misuse,  or  from  a frustration  of  it,  be  the 
greater. 

“ On  the  first  point,  there  is  certainly  room  for  difference 
of  opinion  ; though,  for  myself,  I must  own  that  I have  al- 
ways leaned  in  the  belief  that  the  restriction  was  not  within 
the  true  scope  of  the  Constitution. 

“ On  the  alternative  presented  by  the  second  point,  there 
can  be  no  room,  with  the  cool  and  candid,  for  blame  in 
those  acquiescing  in  a conciliatory  course,  the  demand  for 
which  was  deemed  urgent,  and  the  course  itself  deemed  not 
irreconcilable  with  the  Constitution. 

“ This  is  the  hasty  view  I have  taken  of  the  subject.  I 
am  aware  that  I may  be  suspected  of  being  influenced  by 
the  habit  of  a guarded  construction  of  constitutional  powers; 
and  I have  certainly  felt  all  the  influence  that  could  justly 


OPINIONS  OP  MADISON,  JEFFERSON,  ETC.  2S5 

flow  from  a conviction,  that  an  uncontrolled  dispersion  of 
the  slaves  now  within  the  United  States,  was  not  only  best 
for  the  nation,  but  most  favorable  for  the  slaves  also,  both 
as  to  their  prospects  of  emancipation,  and  as  to  their  con- 
dition in  the  mean  time.” 

As  to  the  reason  of  the  passage  of  the  Ordinance  of  l'J'8’7, 
under  the  old  Confederation,  Mr.  Madison  says  : — 

“ I have  observed,  as  yet,  in  none  of  the  views  taken  of 
the  Ordinance  of  118?,  interdicting  slavery  northwest  of 
the  river  Ohio,  an  allusion  to  the  circumstance  that  when  it 
passed,  Congress  had  no  authority  to  prohibit  the  importa- 
tion of  slaves  from  abroad  ; that  all  the  States  had,  and 
some  were  in  the  full  exercise  of,  the  right  to  import  them  ; 
and,  consequently,  that  there  was  no  mode  in  which  Con- 
gress could  check  the  evil,  but  the  indirect  one  of  narrow- 
ing the  space  open  for  the  reception  of  slaves. 

“ Had  a federal  authority  then  existed  to  prohibit, 
directly  and  totally,  the  importation  from  abroad,  can  it  be 
doubted  that  it  would  have  been  exerted,  and  that  a regu- 
lation having  merely  the  effect  of  preventing  the  interior 
disposition  of  slaves  actually  in  the  United  States,  and  crea- 
ting a distinction  among  the  States  in  the  degree  of  their 
sovereignty,  would  not  have  been  adopted,  or  perhaps 
thought  of?” — Mr.  Madison  to  Mr.  Monroe,  February 
10th,  1820. 

Rough  draught,  or  notes,  of  President  Monroe's  intended 
Veto  Message,  rejecting  the  Missouri  Bill,  if  it  had  passed 
Congress  with  certain  restrictions,  found  in  his  hand- 
writing, among  his  papers  in  possession  of  S.  L.  Gou- 
verneur,  Bsq. 

Having  fully  considered  the  bill  entitled,  &c.,  and  disap- 
proved of  it,  I now  return  it  to  the in  which  it  ori- 

ginated, with  my  objections  to  the  same. 

That  the  Constitution,  in  providing  that  new  States  may 


286  OPINIONS  OF  MADISON,  JEFFERSON,  ETC. 

be  admitted  into  the  Union,  as  is  done  by  the  third  section 
of  the  fourth  article,  intended  that  they  should  be  admitted 
with  all  the  rights  and  immunities  of  the  original  States, 
retaining,  like  them,  all  the  powers  as  to  their  local  govern- 
ments, all  the  powers  ceded  to  it  by  the  Constitution. 

That  if  conditions  of  a character  not  applicable  to  the 
original  States  should  be  imposed  on  a new  State,  an  ine- 
quality would  be  imposed  or  created,  lessening  in  degree 
the  right  of  State  sovereignty,  which  would  always  be  de^ 
grading  to  such  new  State,  and  which,  operating  as  a con- 
dition of  its  admission,  its  incorporation  would  be  incom- 
plete, and  would  also  be  annulled,  and  such  new  State  be 
severed  from  the  Union,  should  afterwards  assume  equality, 
and  exercise  a power  acknowledged  to  belong  to  all  the  ori- 
ginal States. 

That  the  proposed  restriction  to  territories  which  are  to 
be  admitted  into  the  Union,  if  not  in  direct  violation  of  the 
Constitution,  is  repugnant  to  its  principles,  since  it  is 
intended  to  produce  an  effect  on  the  future  policy  of  the  new 
States,  operating  unequally  in  regard  to  the  original  States, 
injuring  those  affected  by  it,  in  an  interest  protected  from 
such  injury  by  the  Constitution,  without  benefiting  any 
State  in  the  Union  ; and  that,  in  this  sense,  it  is  repugnant 
to  the  generous  spirit  which  has  [“so  long”  erased]  always 
existed  and  been  cherished  by  the  several  States  toward 
each  other. 

That  the  first  clause  of  the  ninth  section  of  the  first  arti- 
cle, whieh  provides  that  “ the  migration  or  importation  of 
such  persons  as  any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall  think 
proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress 
prior,”  &c.,  in  whatever  sense  the  term  migration  or  impor- 
tation may  be  understood,  whether  as  applicable  to  the  same 
description  of  persons  or  otherwise,  confines  the  power  of 
Congress  exclusively  to  persons  entering  the  United  States, 
or  who  might  be  disposed  to  enter,  from  abroad,  and  pre- 


OPINIONS  OF  MADISON,  JEFFERSON,  ETC.  287 


clndes  all  interference  with  such  persons,  or  any  other 
persons,  who  had  previously  entered  according  to  the  laws 
of  any  of  the  States. 

That  by  the  third  section  of  the  first  article,  whereby  it 
is  provided  that  representation  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  ap- 
portioned among  the  several  States  which  may  be  included 
within  this  Union,  according  to  the  whole  number  of  free 
persons,  including  those  bound  to  service  for  a number  of 
years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all 
other  persons— [the  words  “the  persons  held  in  bondage  ” 
erased,]  slavery,  as  existing  under  the  laws  of  the  several 
States,  [the  word  “ were  ” erased]  was  not  only  recognized, 
but  [the  word  “ secured  ” erased]  its  political  existence  was 
secured  to  the  States,  which  it  would  be  unjust  to  the  States 
within  which  such  persons  are  to  deprive  them  of,  as  it  would 
be  inhuman  to  the  persons  themselves. 

That  should  the  slaves  be  confined  to  the  States  in  which 
slavery  exists,  as  the  free  people  will  continue  to  emigrate, 
the  disproportion  between  them  will  in  a few  years  be  very 
great,  and  at  no  distant  period  the  whole  country  will  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  blacks.  As  soon  as  this  disproportion 
reaches  a certain  State,  the  white  population  would  probably 
abandon  those  States  to  avoid  insurrection  and  massacre. 
What  would  become  of  the  country  without  States  ? Would 
the  general  government  [“ protect ” erased]  support  the 
owners  of  slaves  in  their  authority  over  them,  after  the 
States  individually  had  lost  the  power? — or  the  slaves  be- 
ing in  possession  of  those  States,  and  independent  of  their 
owners,  would  the  States  be  recognized  as  belonging  to  them, 
and  their  representatives  be  received  in  Congress. 

That  it  would  be  better  to  compel  the  whites  to  remain, 
and  the  blacks  to  move,  &c. 

That  slavery  is  not  the  offspring  of  this  Revolution  ; that 
it  took  place  in  our  colonial  state ; that  all  further  impor- 
tations have  been  prohibited  since  the  Revolution,  under 


288  OPINIONS  OF  MADISON,  JEFFERSON,  ETC. 

laws  which  are  vigorously  enforced  ; that  in  our  revolution 
ary  struggle,  the  States  in  which  slavery  existed  sustained 
their  share  in  the  common  burdens,  furnished  their  equal 
quotas  of  troops,  and  paid  their  equal  share  of  taxes ; that 
slavery,  though  a national  evil,  is  felt  most  sensibly  by  the 
States  in  which  it  exists  ; that  it  would  be  destructive  to  the 
whites  to  confine  it  there,  and  to  the  blacks,  as  the  distri- 
bution of  them  over  an  extensive  territory,  and  among  many 
owners,  will  secure  them  abetter  treatment;  that  the  ex- 
tension of  it  to  new  States  cannot  possibly  injure  the  old, 
as  they  will  claim  all  their  rights,  since  no  attempt  can  ever  be 
made,  or  idea  entertained,  of  requiring  them  to  admit  slavery ; 
that  an  attempt  to  fix  on  the  States  having  slavery  any 
odium  is  unmerited,  and  would  be  ungenerous. 

Mr.  Jefferson  to  President  Monroe. — Extract  from  a 

letter  dated  Monticello,  March  3 d,  1820. 

“ I am  indebted  to  you  for  your  two  letters  of  February 
7th  and  19th.  This  Missouri  question,  by  a geographical 
line  of  division,  is  the  most  portentous  one  I have  ever 
contemplated.  * * * * is  ready  to  risk  the  Union  for 
any  chancp  of  restoring  his  party  to  power  and  wriggling 
himself  to  the  head  of  it ; nor  is*******  with- 
out his  hopes,  nor  scrupulous  as  to  the  means  of  fulfilling 
them.  I hope  I shall  be  spared  the  pains  of  witness- 
ing it,  either  by  the  good  sense  of  the  people,  or  by 
the  more  certain  reliance — the  hand  of  death.  On  this 
or  that  side  of  the  Styx,  I am  ever  and  devotedly  yours.” 

In  a letter,  dated  on  the  13th  of  April,  1820,  he  says ; 

“ The  old  schism  of  Federal  and  Republican  threatened 
nothing,  because  it  existed  in  every  State,  and  united  them 
together  by  the  fraternism  of  party  ; but  the  coincidence  of 
a marked  principle,  moral  and  political,  with  a geographical 
line,  once  conceived,  I feared,  wrould  never  more  be  oblite- 
rated from  the  mind ; that  it  would  be  recurring  on  every 


OPINIONS  OF  JIADI30N,  JEFFERSON,  ETC.  289 

occasion,  and  renewing  irritations  until  it  would  kindle  suck 
mutual  and  mortal  hatred,  as  to  render  separation  prefer- 
able to  eternal  discord.  I have  been  amongst  the  most 
sanguine  in  believing  that  our  Union  would  be  of  long  dura- 
tion. I now  doubt  it  much  ; and  see  the  event  at  no  great 
distance,  and  the  direct  consequence  of  this  question. 

On  the  20th  of  December,  1820,  he  wrote  thus  : 

“ Nothing  has  ever  presented  so  threatening  an  aspect  as 
what  is  called  the  Missouri  question.  The  Federalists, 
completely  put  down,  and  despairing  of  ever  rising  again 
under  the  old  divisions  of  Whig  and  Tory,  devised  a new 
one,  of  slaveholding  and  non-slaveholding  States,  which, 
while  it  had  a semblance  of  being  moral,  was  at  the  same 
time  geographical,  and  calculated  to  give  them  ascendency 
by  debauching  their  old  opponents  to  a coalition  with 
them.  Moral,  the  question  certainly  is  not,  because  the  re- 
moval of  slaves  from  one  State  to  another,  no  more  than 
their  removal  from  one  country  to  another,  would  never  make 
a slave  of  one  human  being  who  would  not  be  so  without  it. 
Indeed,  if  there  be  any  morality  in  the  question,  it  is  on  the 
other  side,  because,  by  spreading  them  over  a larger  surface 
their  happiness  would  be  increased,  and  the  burden  of  their 
future  liberation  lightened,  by  bringing  a greater  number 
of  shoulders  under  it.  However,  it  seemed  to  throw  dust 
into  the  eyes  of  the  people,  and  to  fanaticize  them,  while  to 
the  knowing  ones  it  gave  a geographical  and  preponderating 
line  of  the  Potomac  and  Ohio,  throwing  fourteen  States  to 
the  North  and  East  and  ten  to  the  South  and  West.  With 
these,  therefore,  it  is  merely  a question  of  power.  But  with 
this  geographical  minority  it  is  a question  of  existence  ; for 
if  Congress  once  goes  out  of  the  Constitution  to  arrogate  the 
right  of  regulating  the  condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
States,  its  majority  may,  and  probably  will  declare,  that  the 
condition  of  all  within  the  United  States  shall  be  that  of 
freedom  ; in  which  case  all  the  whites  south  of  the  Potomac 
19 


290  OPINIONS  OF  MADISON,  JEFFERSON,  ETC. 

and  the  Ohio  must  evacuate  their  States,  and  most  fortunate 
those  who  can  do  it  first.” 

And  in  this  letter,  after  speculating  on  the  probable  con- 
sequence of  the  threatened  disunion,  he  adds  : 

“ Should  the  scission  take  place,  one  of  its  most  deplor- 
able consequences  would  be  its  discouragement  of  the  efforts 
of  European  nations,  in  the  regeneration  of  their  oppressive 
and  cannibal  governments.” 

In  a letter  of  the  same  date  (20th  of  December)  to  the 
Marquis  de  Lafayette,  he  prophetically  shadows  forth,  what 
we  now  see  realized,  with  the  same  precision  as  if  he  were 
the  historian  of  to-day. 

“ With  us  things  are  going  well.  The  boisterous  sea  of 
liberty,  indeed,  is  never  without  a wave;  and  that  from 
Missouri  is  now  rolling  towards  us.  But  we  shall  ride  over 
it  as  we  have  done  over  all  others.  It  is  not  a moral  ques- 
tion, but  one  merely  of  power.  Its  object  is  to  raise  a geo- 
graphical principle  for  the  choice  of  a President,  and  the 
noise  will  be  kept  up  till  that  is  effected.  All  know  that 
permitting  the  slaves  of  the  South  to  spread  into  the  West, 
will  not  add  one  being  to  that  unfortunate  condition  ; that 
it  will  increase  the  happiness  of  those  existing,  and  by 
spreading  them  over  a large  surface  will  dilate  the  evil 
everywhere,  and  facilitate  the  means  of  getting  finally  rid 
of  it.” 

So  thought  and  so  wrote  Jefferson,  on  the  question  which 
divided  and  threatened  us  then,  as  it  divides  and  threatens 
us  now. 

Mr.  Jefferson  was  minister  to  France  whilst  the  Conven- 
tion sat  which  formed  the  Constitution  ; and  Mr.  Mason,  at 
whose  relation  he  recorded  this  scrap  of  history,  was  a 
member  of  that  Convention,  and  it  is  dated  at  the  family 
seat  of  the  relator,  (Gunston  Hall,)  some  four  years  only 
after  the  event. 

September  30th,  1192. 


“ Ex  relatione  G.  Mason.  The 


OPINIONS  OF  MADISON,  JEFFERSON,  ETC.  291 

Constitution,  as  agreed  to,  till  a fortnight  before  the  Con- 
vention rose,  was  such  an  one  as  he  would  have  set  his  hand 
and  heart  to.  1.  The  President  was  to  be  elected  for  seven 
years,  then  ineligible  for  seven  years  more.  2.  Rotation  in 
the  Senate.  3.  A vote  of  two-thirds  in  the  legislature  on 
particular  subjects,  and  expressly  on  that  of  navigation. 
The  three  New  England  States  were  constantly  with  us  in 
all  questions — (Rhode  Island  not  there,  and  New  York 
seldom.)  So  that  it  was  these  three  States,  with  the  five 
Southern  ones,  against  Pennsylvania,  Jersey,  and  Delaware 
With  respect  to  the  importation  of  slaves,  it  was  left  to 
Congress.  This  disturbed  the  two  southernmost  States, 
who  knew  that  Congress  would  immediately  suppress  the 
importation  of  slaves.  These  two  States,  therefore,  struck 
up  a bargain  with  the  three  New  England  States  : if  they 
would  join  to  admit  slaves  for  some  years,  the  twro  southern- 
most States  would  join  in  changing  the  clause  which  required 
two-thirds  of  the  legislature  in  any  vote.  It  was  done. 
These  articles  were  changed  accordingly,  and  from  that 
moment  the  two  Southern  States  and  the  three  Northern 
ones  joined  Pennsylvania,  Jersey,  and  Delaware,  and  made 
the  majority  8 to  3 against  us,  instead  of  8 to  3 for  us,  as  it 
had  been  through  the  whole  Convention.  Under  this  coali- 
tion, the  great  principles  of  the  Constitution  were  changed 
in  the  last  days  of  the  Convention.” 

In  a letter  to  Mr.  Adams,  dated  January  22d,  1821,  he 
says : 

“ Our  anxieties  in  this  quarter  are  all  concentrated  in  the 
question,  What  does  the  Holy  Alliance  in  and  out  of  Con- 
gress mean  to  do  with  us  on  the  Missouri  question  ? And 
this,  by  the  by,  is  but  the  name  of  the  case,  it  is  only  the 
John  Doe  or  Richard  Roe  of  the  ejectment.  The  real 
question,  as  seen  in  the  States  afflicted  with  this  unfortunate 
population,  is,  Are  our  slaves  to  be  presented  with  freedom 
and  a dagger  ? For  if  Congress  has  the  power  to  regulate 
the  conditions  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  States,  within  the 


292  OPINIONS  OF  MADISON,  JEFFERSON,  ETC. 

States,  it  will  be  but  another  exercise  of  that  power  to  de- 
clare that  all  shall  be  free.” 

Again,  in  a letter  to  General  Lafayette,  dated  Novem- 
ber 4th,  1823,  he  uses  the  following  striking  language: 

“On  the  eclipse  of  federalism  with  us,  although  not  its 
extinction,  its  leaders  got  up  the  Missouri  question,  under 
the  false  front  of  lessening  the  measure  of  slavery,  but  with 
the  real  view  of  producing  a geographical  division  of  parties, 
which  might  insure  them  the  next  President.  The  people 
of  the  North  went  blindfold  into  the  snare,  followed  their 
leaders  for  a while  with  a zeal  truly  moral  and  laudable, 
until  they  became  sensible  that  they  were  injuring  instead 
of  aiding  the  real  interests  of  the  slaves  ; that  they  had  been 
used  merely  as  tools  for  electioneering  purposes ; and  that 
trick  of  hypocrisy  then  fell  as  quickly  as  it  had  been  got 
up.” 

General  ( afterwards  President ) Harrison  to  President 

Monroe. — Extract  of  a Letter  dated  North  Bend , June 

16,  1823. 

“ In  relation  to  the  Missouri  question,  I am,  and  have 
been  for  many  years,  so  much  opposed  to  slavery,  that  I 
will  never  live  in  a State  where  it  exists.  But  I believe 
that  the  Constitution  has  given  no  power  to  the  General 
Government  to  interfere  in  this  matter,  and  that  to  have 
slaves  or  no  slaves,  depends  upon  the  will  of  the  people  in 
each  State  alone. 

“ Besides  the  constitutional  objection,  I am  persuaded 
that  the  obvious  tendency  of  such  interferences  on  the  part 
of  the  States  which  have  no  slaves  with  the  property  of 
their  fellow  citizens  of  the  others,  is  to  produce  a state  of 
discord  and  jealousy  that  will,  in  the  end,  prove  fatal  to 
the  Union.  I believe  in  no  other  State  are  such  wild  and 
dangerous  sentiments  entertained  on  this  subject  as  in  Ohio, 
and  I claim  the  merit  of  being  the  only  person  of  any 
political  standing  in  the  State  who  publicly  oppose  them.” 


CHAPTER  IX. 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES — ORDINANCE  OF  1TST — THE  CONSTITU- 
TION— ACT  OF  1193. 

(From  Benton's  Thirty  Tears.) 

It  is  of  record  proof  that  the  anti-slavery  clause  in  the 
Ordinance  of  1187,  could  not  be  passed  until  the  fugitive 
slave  recovery  clause  was  added  to  it.  That  anti-slavery 
clause,  first  prepared  in  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation 
by  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  1781,  was  rejected,  and  remained  re- 
jected for  three  years,  until  1787  ; when,  receiving  the 
additional  clause  for  the  recovery  of  fugitives,  it  was 
unanimously  passed.  This  is  clear  proof  that  the  first 
clause,  that  prohibiting  slavery  in  the  Northwest  Territory, 
could  not  be  obtained  without  the  second,  authorizing  the 
recovery  of  slaves  who  should  take  refuge  in  that  territory. 
It  was  a compromise  between  the  slave  States  and  the  free 
States,  unanimously  agreed  upon  by  both  parties,  and 
founded  on  a valuable  consideration,  one  preventing  the 
spread  of  slavery  over  a vast  extent  of  country,  the  other 
retaining  the  right  of  property  in  the  slaves  which  might 
flee  to  it.  Simultaneously  with  the  adoption  of  this  article 
in  the  Ordinances,  in  1787,  was  the  formation  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  both  formed  at  the  same 
time  in  neighboring  cities,  and  (it  maybe  said)  by  the  same 
men.  The  Congress  sat  in  New  York,  the  Federal  Con- 
vention in  Philadelphia ; and  while  the  most  active  mem- 
bers of  both  were  members  of  each,  as  Madison  and 
Hamilton,  yet,  by  constant  interchange  of  opinion,  the 
members  of  both  bodies  may  be  assumed  to  have  work**4 

(293) 


294 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES.  ETC. 


together  for  a common  object.  The  right  to  recover  fugi- 
tive slaves  went  into  the  Constitution  as  it  went  into  the 
Ordinance,  simultaneously  and  unanimously ; and  it  may  be 
assumed  upon  the  facts  of  the  case,  and  all  the  evidence  of 
the  day,  that  the  Constitution,  no  more  than  the  Ordinance, 
could  have  been  formed  without  the  fugitive  slave  recovery 
clause  contained  in  it.  A right  to  recover  slaves  is  not 
only  authorized  in  the  Constitution,  but  it  is  a right  without 
which  there  would  have  been  no  Constitution,  and  also  no 
anti-slavery  Ordinance. 

One  of  the  early  acts  of  Congress,  as  early  as  February, 
1793,  was  a statute  to  carry  into  effect  the  clause  in  the 
Constitution  for  the  reclamation  of  fugitives  from  justice 
and  fugitives  from  labor ; and  that  statute  made  by  the 
men  who  made  the  Constitution,  as  interpreted  by  men 
who  had  a right  to  know  its  meaning.  That  act  consisted 
of  four  sections,  all  brief  and  clear,  and  the  first  two  applied 
exclusively  to  fugitives  from  justice.  The  third  and  fourth 
applied  to  fugitives  from  labor,  embracing  apprentices  as 
well  as  slaves,  and  applying  the  same  rights  and  remedies 
in  each  case  : and  of  these  two,  the  third  alone  contains 
the  whole  provisions  for  reclaiming  the  fugitive — the  fourth 
merely  containing  penalties  for  the  obstruction  of  that  right. 
The  third  section,  then,  is  the  only  one  essential  to  the 
object  of  this  chapter,  and  is  in  these  words  : 

“ That  when  a person  held  to  labor  in  any  of  the  United 
States,  or  in  either  of  the  territories  on  the  northwest  or 
south  of  Ohio,  under  the  laws  thereof,  shall  escape  into  any 
olherof  said  States  or  territories,  the  person  to  whom  such 
labor  is  due,  his  agent  or  attorney,  is  hereby  empowered  to 
seize  or  arrest  such  fugitive  from  labor,  and  to  take  him  or 
her  before  any  judge  of  the  circuit  or  district  courts  of  the 
United  States,  residing  or  being  within  the  State,  or  before 
any  magistrate  of  a county,  city,  or  town  corporate,  wherein 
such  seizure  or  arrest  shall  be  made,  and  upon  proof  to  the 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES,  ETC. 


295 


satisfaction  of  such  judge  or  magistrate,  either  by  oral  tes- 
timony, or  by  affidavit  taken  before  and  certified  by  a 
magistrate,  of  any  such  State  or  territory,  that  the  person 
so  seized  and  arrested,  doth,  under  the  laws  of  the  State  or 
territory  from  which  he  or  she  fled,  owe  service  to  the  persons 
claiming  him  or  her,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  such  judge  or 
magistrate  to  give  a certificate  thereof  to  such  claimant,  his 
agent  or  attorney,  which  shall  be  sufficient  warrant  for 
removing  the  said  fugitive  from  labor  to  the  State  or  terri- 
tory from  which  he  or  she  fled.” 

This  act  was  passed  on  the  recommendation  of  President 
Washington  in  consequence  of  a case  having  arisen  between 
Pennylvania  and  Virginia,  which  showed  the  want  of  an 
act  of  Congress  to  carry  the  clause  in  the  Constitution  into 
effect.  It  may  be  held  to  be  a fair  interpretation  of  the 
Constitution,  and  by  it  the  party  claiming  the  service  of  the 
fugitive  in  any  State  or  territory  had  the  right  to  seize  his 
slave  whenever  he  saw  him,  and  to  carry  him  before  a judicial 
authority  in  the  State  ; and  upon  affidavit  or  oral  testimony, 
showing  his  right,  he  was  to  receive  a certificate  to  that 
effect,  by  virtue  of  which  he  might  carry  him  back  to  the 
State  from  which  he  had  fled.  This  act,  fully  recognizing 
the  right  of  the  claimant  to  seize  his  slave  by  mere  virtue 
of  ownership,  and  then  to  carry  him  out  of  the  State  upon 
a certificate  and  without  a trial,  was  passed  as  good  as 
unanimously  by  the  second  Congress  which  sat  under  the 
Constitution — the  proceedings  of  the  Senate  showing  no 
division,  and  in  the  House  only  seven  voting  against  the 
bill,  there  being  no  separate  votes  on  the  two  parts  of  it, 
and  two  of  these  seven  from  the  slave  States  (Virginia 
and  Maryland).  It  does  not  appear  to  what  these  seven 
objected — whether  to  the  fugitive  slave  sections,  or  those 
which  applied  to  fugitives  from  justice.  Such  unanimity 
in  its  passage  by  those  who  helped  to  make  the  Constitu- 
tion was  high  evidence  in  its  favor;  the  conduct  of  the 


296 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES  ETC. 


States,  and  both  judiciaries,  State  and  federal,  were  to  the 
same  effect.  The  act  was  continually  enforced,  and  the 
courts  decided  that  this  right  of  the  owner  to  seize  his 
slave  was  just  as  large  in  the  free  State  to  which  he  had 
fled  as  in  the  slave  State  from  which  he  had  run  away — . 
that  he  might  seize,  by  night  as  well  as  by  day,  on  Sunday 
as  well  as  other  days,  and  also  in  a house,  provided  no 
breach  of  the  peace  ;vas  committed.  The  penal  section  in 
the  bill  was  clear  and  heavy,  and  weut  upon  the  ground  of 
the  absolute  right  of  the  master  to  seize  his  slave  by  his  own 
authority  wherever  he  saw  him,  and  the  criminality  of  any 
obstruction  or  resistance  iu  the  exercise  of  that  right.  It 
was  in  these  words  : 

“That  any  person  who  shall  knowingly  and  wilfully 
obstruct  or  hinder  such  claimant,  his  agent  or  attorney,  in 
so  seizing  or  arresting  such  fugitive  from  labor,  or  shall 
rescue  such  fugitive  from  such  claimant,  his  agent  or 
attorney,  when  so  arrested  pursuant  to  the  authority  here- 
in given  or  declared  ; or  shall  harbor,  or  conceal  such 
persons  after  notice  that  he  or  she  was  a fugitive  from 
labor  as  aforesaid,  shall,  for  either  of  the  said  offenses, 
forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars,  which  pen- 
alty may  be  recovered  by  aud  for  the  benefit  of  such  claim- 
ant, by  action  of  debt  in  any  court  proper  to  try  the  same, 
saving,  moreover,  to  the  person  claiming  such  labor  or  ser- 
vice his  right  of  action  for  or  on  account  of  the  said  injuries, 
or  either  of  them.” 

State  officers,  the  magistrates  and  judges,  though  not 
bound  to  act  under  the  law  of  Congress,  yet  did  so ; and 
State  jails,  though  not  obligatory  under  a federal  law,  were 
freely  used  for  the  recaptured  fugitives.  This  continued 
till  a late  day  in  most  of  the  free  States — in  all  of  them 
until  after  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  engaged  in 
the  slavery  agitation — and  in  the  great  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania until  the  20th  March,  1847  ; this  is  to  say,  until  a 
month  after  Mr.  Calhoun  brought  into  the  Senate  the 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES,  ETC. 


297 


slavery  resolutions,  stigmatized  by  Mr.  Benton  as  “ fire- 
brand” at  the  moment  of  their  introduction,  and  which  are 
since  involving  the  Union  in  conflagration.  Then  Pennsyl- 
vania passed  the  law  forbidding  her  judicial  authorities  to 
take  cognizance  of  any  fugitive  slave  case — granted  a habeas 
corpus  remedy  to  any  fugitives  arrested — denying  the  use 
of  her  jails  to  confine  any  one,  and  repealing  the  six  months’ 
slave  sojourning  law  of  1780. 

Some  years  before  the  passage  of  this  harsh  act,  and 
before  the  slavery  agitation  had  commenced  in  Congress,  to 
wit,  1826  (which  was  nine  years  before  the  commencement 
of  the  agitation)  Pennsylvania  had  passed  a most  liberal 
law  of  her  own,  done  upon  the  request  of  Maryland,  to  aid 
the  recovery  of  fugitive  slaves.  It  was  entitled  “An  Act  to 
give  effect  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  in  re- 
claiming fugitives  from  justice .”  Such  has  been  the  just 
and  generous  conduct  of  Pennsylvania  toward  the  slave 
States  until  up  to  the  passing  the  harsh  act  of  1847.  Her 
legal  right  to  pass  that  act  is  admitted ; her  magistrates 
were  not  bound  to  act  under  the  federal  law — her  jails  were 
not  liable  to  be  used  for  federal  purposes.  The  sojourning 
law  of  1780  was  her  own,  and  she  had  a right  to  repeal  it. 
But  the  whole  act  of  1847  was  the  exercise  of  a mere  right, 
against  the  comity  which  is  due  to  states  united  under  a 
common  head,  against  moral  and  social  duty,  against  high 
national  policy,  against  the  spirit  in  which  the  Constitution 
was  made,  against  her  own  previous  conduct  for  sixty  years, 
and  injurious  and  irritating  to  the  people  of  the  slave  States, 
and  part  of  it  unconstitutional.  The  denial  of  the  interven- 
tion of  her  judicial  officers,  and  the  use  of  her  prisons, 
though  an  inconvenience,  was  not  insurmountable,  and  might 
be  remedied  by  Congress;  the  repeal  of  the  act  of  1780 
was  the  radical  injury,  and  for  which  there  was  no  remedy 
in  federal  legislation. 

That  act  was  passed  before  the  adoption  of  the  Constitu- 


298 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES,  ETC. 


tion,  and  while  the  feelings  of  cordiality,  good-will,  and  en- 
tire justice  prevailed  among  the  States,  it  was  allowed  to 
continue  in  force  nearly  sixty  years  after  the  Constitution 
was  made,  and  was  a proof  of  good  feeling  toward  all  during 
that  time.  By  the  terms  of  this  act,  a discrimination  was 
established  between  sojourners  and  permanent  residents, 
and  the  elements  of  time — the  most  obvious  and  easy  of  all 
arbiters — was  taken  for  the  rule  of  discrimination.  Six 
months  was  the  time  allowed  to  discriminate  a sojourn  from 
a residence  ; and  during  that  time  the  rights  of  the  owner 
remained  complete  in  his  slave  ; after  the  lapse  of  that  time, 
his  ownership  ceased.  This  six  months  was  equally  in  favor 
of  all  persons.  But  there  was  further  and  indefinite  provi- 
sions in  favor  of  members  of  Congress,  and  of  the  federal 
government,  all  of  whom  coming  from  slave  States,  were 
allowed  to  retain  their  ownership  as  long  as  their  federal 
duties  required  them  to  remain  the  States.  Such  an  act 
was  jusi  and  wise,  and  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  comity 
which  should  prevail  among  States  formed  into  a Union, 
havinga  common  general  government,  and  reciprocating  the 
rights  of  citizenship.  It  is  to  be  deplored  that  any  event 
ever  arose  to  occasion  a repeal  of  that  act.  It  is  to  be 
wished  a spirit  would  arise  to  re-enact  it,  and  that  other  of 
the  free  States  should  follow  the  example.  For  there  were 
others,  and  several  which  had  similar  acts,  and  which  re- 
pealed them  in  like  manner  as  Pennsylvania,  uuder  the  same 
unhappy  influences,  and  with  the  same  baleful  consequences. 
New  York  for  example — her  law  of  discrimination  between 
the  sojourner  and  resident  being  the  same  in  principle,  and 
still  more  liberal  in  detail  than  that  of  Pennsylvania — allow- 
ing nine  months  instead  of  six  to  determine  that  character. 

This  act  of  New  York,  like  that  of  Pennsylvania,  con- 
tinued undisturbed  in  the  State  until  the  slavery  agitation 
took  root  in  Congress,  and  was  even  so  well  established  in 
the  good  opinion  of  thv  people  of  that  State,  as  late  as  thir- 


FUGITIVE  SLAVE.?,  ETC. 


299 


teen  years  after  the  commencement  of  that  agitation,  as  to 
be  boldly  sustained  by  the  candidates  for  the  highest  office. 
On  this  an  eminent  instance  will  be  given  in  the  canvass  for 
the  governorship  of  the  State  in  the  year  1838.  Tn  that 
year  Mr.  Marcy  and  Mr.  Seward  were  the  opposing  candi- 
dates, and  an  anti-slavery  meeting,  held  at  Utica,  passed  a 
resolve  to  have  them  interrogated  (among  other  things)  on 
the  point  of  repealing  the  slave  sojournment  act.  Messrs. 
Gerrit  Smith  and  William  Jay  were  nominated  a committee 
for  that  purpose,  and  fulfilled  their  mission  so  zealously  as 
to  rather  overstate  the  terms  of  the  act,  using  the  word 
“ importation  ” as  applied  to  the  coming  of  these  slaves  with 
their  owners,  thus  : “Are  you  in  favor  of  the  repeal  of  the 
law  which  now  authorizes  the  importation  of  slaves  into  this 
State,  and  their  detention  as  such  for  the  time  of  nine 
months  ?”  Objecting  to  the  substitution  of  the  term  im- 
portation, and  stating  the  act  correctly,  both  the  candidates 
answered  fully  in  the  negative,  and  with  reasons  for  their 
opinion.  The  act  was  first  in  its  own  term,  as  follows  : 

“Any  person  not  being  an  inhabitant  of  this  State,  who 
shall  be  traveling  to  or  from,  or  passing  through  this  State, 
may  bring  with  him  any  person  lawfully  held  by  him  in 
slavery,  and  may  take  such  person  with  him  from  this  State  ; 
but  the  person  so  held  in  slavery  shall  not  reside  or  continue 
in  the  State  longer  than  nine  months,  and  if  such  residence  be 
continued  beyond  that  time,  such  person  shall  be  free.”  Re- 
plying to  the  interrogatory,  Mr.  Marcy  then  proceeds  to 
give  his  opinion  and  reasons  in  favor  of  sustaining  the  act, 
which  he  does  unreservedly  : 

By  comparing  this  law  with  your  interrogatory,  you  will 
perceive  at  once  that  the  latter  implies  much  more  than  the 
former  expresses.  The  discrepancy  between  them  is  so 
great,  that  I suspected,  at  first,  that  you  had  reference  to 
some  other  enactment  which  had  escaped  general  notice. 
As  none,  however,  can  be  found  but  the  foregoing,  to 


300 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES,  ETC. 


which  the  question  is  in  any  respect  applicable,  there  will 
be  no  mistake,  I presume,  in  assuming  it  to  be  the  one  you 
had  in  view.  The  deviation,  in  putting  the  question,  from 
what  would  seem  to  be  the  plain  and  obvious  course  of 
directing  the  attention  to  the  particular  law  under  con- 
sideration, by  referring  to  it  in  the  very  terms  in  which  it  is 
expressed  or  at  least  in  language  showing  its  objects  and 
limitations,  I do  not  impute  to  an  intention  to  create  an 
erroneous  impression  as  to  the  law,  or  to  ascribe  to  it  a 
character  of  odiousness  which  it  does  not  deserve ; yet  I 
think  that  it  must  be  conceded  that  your  question  will  in- 
duce those  who  are  not  particularly  acquainted  with  the 
section  of  the  statute  to  which  it  refers,  to  believe  that 
there  is  a law  of  this  State  which  allows  a free  importation 
of  slaves  into  it,  without  restriction  as  to  object,  and  with- 
out limitation  as  to  the  persons  who  may  do  so,  yet  this 
is  very  far  from  being  true.  This  law  does  not  permit  any 
inhabitant  of  this  State  to  bring  into  it  any  person  held  in 
slavery,  under  any  pretense,  or  for  any  object  whatsoever : 
nor  does  it  allow  any  person  of  any  other  State  or  country 
to  do  so,  except  such  person  is  actually  passing  to  or  from, 
or  passing  through  this  State.  This  law,  in  its  operation 
and  effect,  only  allows  persons  belonging  to  States  or  na- 
tions where  domestic  slavery  exists,  who  happen  to  be 
traveling  in  this  State,  to  be  attended  by  their  servants, 
whom  they  lawfully  hold  in  slavery  when  at  home,  provided 
they  do  not  remain  within  our  territories  longer  than  nine 
months.  The  difference  between  it  and  the  one  implied  by 
your  interrogatory  is  so  manifest,  that  it  is  perhaps  fair  to 
presume,  that  if  those  by  whose  appointment  you  act  in  this 
matter  had  not  misapprehended  its  character,  they  would 
not  have  instructed  you  to  make  it  the  subject  of  one  of 
your  questions.  It  is  so  restricted  in  its  object,  and  that 
is  so  unexceptionable  that  it  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as 
obnoxious  to  well-founded  objections  when  viewed  in  its 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES,  ETC. 


301 


true  light.  Its  repeal  would,  I apprehend,  have  an  injurious 
effect  upon  our  intercourse  with  some  of  the  other  States, 
and  particularly  upon  their  business  connection  with  our 
commercial  emporium.  In  addition  to  this,  the  repeal 
would  have  a tendency  to  disturb  the  political  harmony 
among  the  members  of  the  confederacy,  without  producing 
any  beneficial  result  to  compensate  for  these  evils.  I am 
not  therefore  in  favor  of  it.” 

This  is  an  explicit  answer,  meeting  the  interrogatory 
with  a full  negative,  and  implicitly  rebuking  the  phrase, 
“importation,”  by  supposing  it  would  not  have  been  used 
if  the  TJtica  convention  had  understood  the  act.  Mr. 
Seward  answered  in  the  same  spirit,  and  to  the  same  effect, 
only  giving  a little  more  amplitude  to  his  excellent  reason. 
He  says : 

“ Does  not  your  inquiry  give  too  broad  a meaning  to  the 
section  ? It  certainly  does  not  confer  upon  any  citizen  of 
a State,  or  of  any  other  country,  or  any  citizen  from  any 
other  State,  except  the  owner  of  slaves  iu  another  State  by 
virtue  of  the  laws  thereof,  the  right  to  bring  slaves  into 
this  State  or  detain  them  here  under  any  circumstances 
as  such.  I understand  your  inquiry,  therefore,  to  mean, 
whether  I am  in  favor  of  a repeal  of  the  law  which  declares, 
in  substance,  that  any  person  from  the  Southern  or  south- 
western States,  who  may  be  traveling  to  or  from  or  passing 
through  the  State,  may  bring  with  him  and  take  with  him 
any  person  lawfully  held  by  him  in  slavery  in  the  State 
from  whence  he  came,  provided  such  slaves  do  not  remain 
here  more  than  nine  months.  The  article  of  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States  which  bears  upon  the  present 
question,  declares  that  no  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in 
one  State  under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping  to  another  State, 
shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be 
discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but  such  person  shall 
be  delivered  up  rn  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service 


302 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES.  ETC. 


or  labor  may  be  due.  I understand  that,  in  the  State  of 
Massachusetts,  this  provision  of  the  Constitution  has  been 
decided  by  the  courts  not  to  include  the  case  of  a slave 
brought  by  his  master  into  the  State  and  escaping  thence. 
But  the  courts  of  law  in  this  State  have  uniformly  given  a 
different  construction  to  the  same  article  of  the  Constitution, 
and  have  always  decided  that  it  does  embrace  the  case  of  a 
slave  brought  by  his  master  into  this  State,  and  escaping 
from  him  here.  Consequently,  under  this  judicial  construc- 
tion of  the  Constitution,  and  without,  and  in  defiance  of 
any  law  or  regulation  of  this  State,  if  the  slave  escape  from 
his  master  in  this  State,  he  must  be  restored  to  him,  when 
claimed  at  any  time  during  his  master’s  temporary  so- 
journment, within  the  State,  whether  that  sojournment 
be  six  months,  nine  months,  or  longer.  It  is  not  for 
me  to  say  that  this  decision  is  erroneous,  nor  is  it  for  our 
legislature.  Acting  under  its  authority,  they  passed  the 
law  to  which  you  object,  for  the  purpose  uot  of  conferring 
new  powers  or  privileges  on  the  slave-owner,  but  to  prevent 
his  abuse  of  that  which  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  thus  expounded,  secures  to  him.  The  lav/,  as  I 
understood  it,  was  intended  to  fix  a period  of  time  as  a test 
of  transient  passage  through,  or  temporary  residence  in  the 
State,  within  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution.  The 
duration  of  nine  months  is  not  material  in  the  question,  and 
if  it  be  unnecessarily  long,  may  and  ought  to  be  abridged. 
But,  if  no  such  law  existed,  the  right  of  the  master  (under 
the  construction  of  the  Constitution  before  mentioned) 
would  be  indefinite,  and  the  slave  must  be  surrendered  to 
him  in  all  cases  of  traveling  through  or  passage  to  or  from 
the  State.  If  I have  correctly  apprehended  the  subject, 
this  law  is  one  not  conferring  a right  upon  any  person  to 
import  slaves  into  the  State,  and  hold  them  here  as  such, 
but  is  an  attempt  at  restriction  upon  the  constilntional 
right  of  the  master  : a qualification,  or  at  least  a definition 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES,  ETC. 


303 


of  it,  and  is  in  favor  of  the  slave.  Its  repeal,  therefore, 
would  have  the  effect  to  put  in  greater  jeopardy  the  class 
of  persons  you  propose  to  benefit  by  it. 

“ While  the  construction  of  the  Constitution  adopted  here 
is  maintained,  the  law  it  would  seem  ought  to  remain  upon 
our  statute  book,  not  as  an  encroachment  upon  the  rights 
of  man  but  a protection  for  them. 

“But,  gentlemen,  being  desirous  to  be  entirely  candid  in 
this  communication,  it  is  proper  I should  add,  that  I am  not 
convinced  it  would  be  either  wise,  expedient  or  humane  to 
declare  to  our  fellow  citizens  of  the  Southern  and  South- 
western States,  that  if  they  travel  to  or  from  or  pass  through 
the  State  of  New  York,  they  shall  not  bring  with  them  the 
attendants  whom  custom,  or  education,  or  habit  may  have 
rendered  necessary  to  them.  I have  not  been  able  to  dis- 
cover any  good  object  to  be  attained  by  such  an  act  of  in- 
hospitality. It  certainly  can  work  no  injury  to  us,  nor  can 
it  be  injurious  to  the  unfortunate  beings  held  in  bondage 
to  permit  them,  once  perhaps  in  their  lives,  and  at  most  on 
occasions  few  and  far  between,  to  visit  a country  where 
slavery  is  unknown,  I can  even  conceive  of  benefits  to  the 
great  cause  of  human  liberty,  from  the  cultivation  of  this 
intercourse  with  the  South.  I can  imagine  but  one  ground 
of  objection,  which  is,  that  it  may  be  regarded  as  an  impli- 
cation that  this  State  sanctioned  slavery.  If  this  objection, 
were  well  grounded,  I should  at  once  condemn  the  law. 
But,  in  truth  the  law  does  not  imply  any  such  sanction. 
The  same  statute  which,  in  necessary  obedience  to  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  as  expounded,  declares 
the  exception,  condemns,  in  the  most  clear  and  definite 
terms,  all  human  bondages.  I will  not  press  the  considera- 
tion flowing  from  the  nature  of  our  Union,  and  the  mutual 
concessions  on  which  it  was  founded,  against  the  propriety 
of  such  an  exclusion  as  your  question  contemplates,  ap- 
parently for  the  purpose  only  of  avoiding  an  implication  not 


304 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES,  ETC. 


founded  in  fact,  and  which  the  history  of  our  State  so  nobly 
contradicts.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  such  an  exclusion 
could  have  no  good  effect  practically,  and  would  accom- 
plish nothing  in  the  great  cause  of  human  liberty.” 

These  answers  do  not  seem  to  have  affected  the  election 
in  any  way.  Mr.  Seward  was  elected,  each  candidate  re- 
ceiving the  full  vote  of  his  party.  Since  that  time  the  act 
has  been  repealed,  and  no  voice  has  been  raised  to  restore 
it.  Just  and  meritorious  as  were  the  answers  of  Messrs. 
Marcy  and  Seward  in  favor  of  sustaining  the  sojourning 
act,  their  voices  in  favor  of  its  restoration  would  be  still 
more  so  now.  It  was  a measure  in  the  very  spirit  of  the 
Constitution,  and  in  the  very  nature  of  a union,  and  in  full 
harmony  with  the  spirit  of  concession,  deference,  and  good 
will  in  which  the  Constitution  was  founded.  Several  other 
States  had  acts  to  the  same  effect,  and  the  temper  of  the 
people  in  all  the  free  States  was  accordant.  It  was  not 
until  after  the  slavery  question  became  a subject  of  political 
agitation,  in  the  national  legislature,  that  these  acts  were 
repealed,  and  this  spirit  destroyed.  Political  agitation  has 
done  all  the  mischief. 

The  act  of  Pennsylvania,  of  March  3d,  1841,  beside 
repealing  the  slave  sojournment  act  of  1180 — (an  act  made 
in  the  time  of  Dr.  Franklin,  and  which  had  been  on  her 
statute  book  near  seventy  years) — beside  repealing  her 
recent  act  of  1826,  and  beside  forbidding  the  use  of  her 
prisons  and  the  intervention  of  her  officers  in  the  recovery 
of  fugitive  slaves — beside  all  this,  went  on  to  make  positive 
enactment  to  prevent  the  exercise  of  the  rights  of  forcible 
recaption  of  fugitive  slaves,  as  regulated  by  the  act  of 
Congress,  under  the  clause  in  the  Constitution  ; and  for 
that  purpose  contained  this  section. 

“ That  if  any  person  or  persons,  claiming  any  negro  or 
mulatto,  as  fugitive  from  servitude  or  labor,  shall,  under  any 
pretense  of  authority  whatever,  violently  and  tumultuously 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES,  ETC. 


305 


seize  upon  and  carry  away  in  a riotous,  violent,  and  tumul- 
tuous manner,  and  so  as  to  disturb  and  eudanger  the  public 
peace,  any  negro  or  mulatto  within  this  commonwealth, 
either  with  or  without  the  intention  of  taking  such  negro  or 
mulatto  before  any  district  or  circuit  judge,  the  person  or 
persons  so  offending  against  the  peace  of  this  common- 
wealth shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a misdemeanor ; and,  on 
conviction  thereof,  shall  be  sentenced  to  pay  a fine  of  not 
less  than  one  hundred  nor  more  than  two  thousand  dollars ; 
and,  further,  be  confined  in  the  county  jail  for  any  period 
not  exceeding  three  months,  at  the  discretion  of  the  court.” 

The  granting  of  the  habeas  corpus  writ  to  any  fugitive 
slave,  completed  the  enactment  of  this  statute,  which  thus 
carried  out,  to  the  full,  the  ample  intimations  contained  in 
its  title,  to-wit : “ An  act  to  prevent  kidnapping,  preserve 
the  public  peace,  prohibit  the  exercise  of  certain  powers 
heretofore  exercised  by  judges,  justices  of  the  peace,  alder- 
men, and  jailors  within  this  commonwealth  : and  to  repeal 
certain  slave  laws."  This  act  made  a new  starting-point 
in  the  anti-slavery  movements  North,  as  the  resolutions  of 
Mr.  Calhoun,  of  the  previous  month,  made  a new  starting- 
point  in  the  pro-slavery  movements  in  the  South.  The  first 
led  to  the  new  fugitive  slave  recovery  act  of  1850;  the 
other  has  led  to  the  abrogation  of  the  Missouri  Compromise 
line ; and  between  the  two,  the  state  of  things  has  been 
produced  which  now  afflicts  and  distracts  the  country,  and 
is  working  a sectional  divorce  of  the  States. 

A citizen  of  Maryland,  acting  under  the  federal  law  of 
1193,  in  recapturing  his  slave  in  Pennsylvania,  was  prose- 
cuted under  the  State  act  of  1826,  convicted,  and  sentenced 
to  its  penalties.  The  constitutionality  of  this  enactment 
was  in  vain  pleaded  in  the  Pennsylvania  court;  but  her 
authorities  acted  in  the  spirit  of  deference  and  respect  to 
the  authorities  of  the  Union,  and  concurred  in  an  “ agreed 
case,"  to  be  carried  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
20 


306 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES,  ETC. 


States,  to  test  the  constitutionality  of  the  Pennsylvania 
law.  That  court  decided,  fully  and  promptly,  all  the  points 
in  the  case,  and  to  the  full  vindication  of  all  the  rights  of  a 
slaveholder,  under  the  recaption  clause  in  the  Constitution. 
The  points  decided  cover  all  the  ground,  and,  besides,  show 
precisely  in  what  particular  the  act  of  1193  required  to  be 
amended,  to  make  it  work  out  its  complete  effect  under  the 
Constitution,  independent  of  all  extrinsic  aid.  The  points 
were  these  : 

“The  provisions  of  the  act  of  February  12th,  1*793,  re- 
lative to  fugitive  slaves,  is  clearly  constitutional  in  all 
its  leading  provisions,  and,  indeed,  with  the  exception  of 
that  part  which  confers  authority  on  State  magistrates,  is 
free  from  reasonable  doubt  or  difficulty.  As  to  the  autho- 
rity so  conferred  on  State  magistrates,  while  a difference 
of  opinion  exists,  and  may  exist  on  this  point,  in  different 
States,  whether  State  magistrates  are  bound  to  act  under 
it,  none  is  entertained  by  the  Court  that  State  magistrates 
may,  if  they  choose,  exercise  that  authority,  unless  forbid 
by  State  legislation.”  “ The  power  of  legislation  in  rela- 
tion to  fugitives  from  labor  is  exclusively  in  the  national 
legislature.  ” 

“The  right  to  seize  and  retake  fugitive  slaves,  and  the 
duty  to  deliver  them  up,  in  whatever  State  of  the  Union 
they  may  be  found  is,  under  the  Constitution,  recognized  as 
an  absolute  positive  right  and  duty,  pervading  the  whole 
Union  with  an  equal  and  supreme  force,  uncontrolled  and 
uncontrollable  by  State  sovereignty  cr  State  legislation. 
The  right  and  duty  are  co-extensive  and  uniform  in  remedy 
and  operation  throughout  the  whole  Union.  The  owner 
has  the  same  exemptions  from  State  regulations  and  con- 
trol, through  however  many  States  he  may  pass  with  the 
fugitive  slaves  in  his  possession  in  transitu  to  his  domicile. 
“ The  act  of  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  on  which  the  in- 
dictment against  Edward  Prigg  was  founded,  for  carrying  away 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES,  ETC. 


307 


a fugitive  slave,  is  unconstitutional  and  void.  It  purports  to 
punish,  as  a public  offense  against  the  State,  the  very  act 
of  seizing  and  removing  a slave  by  his  master,  which  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  designed  to  justify 
and  uphold.”  “ The  constitutionality  of  the  act  of  Con- 
gress (1193)  relating  to  fugitives  from  labor  has  been 
affirmed  by  the  adjudications  of  the  State  tribunal,  and  by 
those  of  the  courts  of  the  United  States.” 


CHAPTER  X. 


SLAVERY  IN  THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA. 

December  12,  1831.  This  being  the  first  day  of  the 
session  for  presenting  petitions,  a great  number  were  pre- 
sented. Among  others, 

Mr.  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  (ex-President  of  the  United 
States)  presented  fifteen  petitions,  all  numerously  subscribed, 
from  sundry  inhabitants  of  Pennsylvania,  all  of  the  same 
purport,  praying  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  the  slave 
trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  moved  that  the  first 
of  them  should  be  read,  and  it  was  read  accordingly. 

Mr.  A.  then  observed  that  it  had  doubtless  been  re- 
marked that  these  petitions  came,  not  from  Massachusetts, 
a portion  of  whose  people  he  had  the  honor  to  represent, 
but  from  the  citizens  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  He 
had  received  the  petitions  many  months  ago,  with  a request 
that  they  should  be  presented  ; and,  although  the  petitions 
were  not  of  his  immediate  constituents,  he  had  not  deemed 
himself  at  liberty  to  decline  presenting  their  petitions,  the 
transmission  of  which  to  him  manifested  a confidence  in 
him  for  which  he  was  bound  to  be  grateful.  From  a letter 
which  had  accompanied  these  petitions,  he  inferred  that 
they  came  from  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  a body 
of  men  than  whom  there  was  no  more  respectable  and 
worthy  class  of  citizens  ; none  who  more  strictly  made  their 
lives  a commentary  on  their  professions  ; a body  of  men 
comprising,  in  his  firm  opinion,  as  much  of  human  virtue, 
as  little  of  human  infirmity,  as  any  other  equal  number  of 
men  of  any  denomination  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 

The  petitions,  Mr.  A.  continued,  asked  for  two  things: 

(308) 


SLAVERY  IN  THE  DISTRICT  C?  COLUMBIA.  309 


the  first  was  the  abolition  of  slavery  ; the  second,  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  slave  trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  There 
was  a traffic  of  slaves  carried  on  in  the  District,  of  which  lie 
did  not  know  but  that  it  might  be  a proper  subject  of  legis- 
lation by  Congress,  and  he  therefore  moved  that  the  peti- 
tion he  had  the  honor  of  presenting,  should  be  referred  to 
the  committee  on  the  affairs  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
who  would  dispose  of  them  as  they,  upon  examination  of 
their  purport,  should  deem  proper,  and  might  report  on  the 
expediency  of  granting  so  much  of  the  prayer  of  the  peti- 
tioners as  referred  to  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  in  the 
District. 

As  to  the  other  prayer  of  the  petitioners,  the  abolition  by 
Congress  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  it  had  oc- 
curred to  him  that  the  petitions  might  have  been  committed 
to  his  charge  under  an  expectation  that  it  would  receive  his 
countenance  and  support.  He  deemed  it,  therefore,  his 
duty  to  declare  that  it  would  not.  Whatever  might  be  his 
opinion  of  slavery  in  the  abstract,  or  of  slavery  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  it  was  a subject  which  he  hoped  would 
not  be  discussed  in  the  House  ; if  it  should  be,  he  might 
perhaps  assign  the  reasons  why  he  could  give  it  no  counte- 
nance or  support.  At  present,  he  would  only  say  to  the 
House,  and  to  the  worthy  citizens  who  had  committed  their 
petitions  to  his  charge,  that  the  most  salutary  medicines, 
unduly  administered,  became  the  most  deadly  of  poisons.  He 
concluded  by  moving  to  refer  the  petitions  to  the  committee 
for  the  District  of  Columbia. 

December  19,  1831.  Mr.  Doddridge,  from  the  commit 
tee  for  the  District  of  Columbia,  made  the  following  report, 
which  was  read  and  concurred  in  by  the  House  : 

The  committee  for  the  District  of  Columbia  have,  accord- 
ing to  order,  had  under  their  consideration  the  memorials 
of  sundry  citizens  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  to  them  re- 
ferred, praying  the  passage  of  such  law  or  laws  by  Congress, 


310  SLAVERY  IN  THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA. 


as  may  be  necessary  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  the 
slave  trade  within  the  said  District,  and  beg  leave  to  report 
thereon,  in  part. 

Considering  that  the  District  of  Columbia  is  composed 
of  cessions  of  territory  made  to  the  United  States  by  the 
States  of  Virginia  and  Maryland,  in  both  of  which  States 
slavery  exists,  and  the  territories  of  which  surround  the  Dis- 
trict, your  committee  are  of  an  opinion,  that  until  the  wis- 
dom of  State  governments  shall  have  devised  some  practi- 
cable means  of  eradicating  or  diminishing  the  evil  of  slavery, 
of  which  the  memorialists  complain,  it  would  be  unwise  and 
impolitic,  if  not  unjust,  to  the  adjoining  States,  for  Congress 
to  interfere  in  a subject  of  such  delicacy  and  importance  as 
is  the  relation  between  master  and  slave. 

If,  under  any  circumstances,  such  an  interference  on  the 
part  of  Congress  would  be  justified,  your  committee  a, re 
satisfied  that  the  present  is  an  inauspicious  moment  for  its 
consideration.  Impressed  with  these  views,  your  committee 
offer  for  the  consideration  of  the  House  the  following  [reso- 
lution :] 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  for  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia be  discharged  from  the  further  consideration  of  so  much 
of  the  prayer  of  the  memorialists — citizens  of  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  asking  the  passage  of  such  law  or  laws  as  may 
be  necessary  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  the  slave  trade 
within  said  District — as  relates  to  the  first  of  these  objects, 
the  abolition  of  slavery  within  said  District. 

Deceviber  21,  1835,  petitions  for  the  abolition  of  slavery 
in  the  District  of  Columbia,  being  under  discussion,  Hon. 
John  Quincy  Adams  of  Massachusetts, — rose  and  said  he 
hoped  the  motion  to  reconsider  this  vote  would  not  prevail; 
and  he  expressed  this  hope  for  the  very  reason  which  the 
gentleman  from  Virginia  [Mr.  Patton],  had  assigned  for  ! 
voting  in  favor  of  the  motion.  It  appears  to  me  (said  Mr. 
A).,  that  the  only  way  of  getting  the  question  from  the 


SLAVERY  IN  THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA.  311 


view  of  the  House  and  of  the  nation,  is  to  dispose  of  all 
petitions  on  the  subject  in  the  same  way.  This  is  not  a new 
opinion  ; I assumed  this  position  in  my  very  first  act  as  a 
member  of  this  House,  from  the  very  time  when  I first  took 
my  seat  as  a member  of  22d  Congress.  At  that  time  fifteen 
petitions  were  transmitted  to  me,  not  from  my  own  consti- 
tuents, but  from  citizens  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  with  a request  that  I should  present 
them  to  the  House.  Sir,  I did  so  in  homage  to  the  sacred  right 
of  petition — a right  which,  in  whatever  manner  it  may  be 
treated  by  other  members  of  this  House,  shall  never  be 
treated  by  me  other  than  with  respect. 

But,  sir,  not  being  in  favor  of  the  object  of  the  petitions, 
I then  gave  notice  to  the  House  and  to  the  country,  that 
upon  the  supposition  that  these  petitions  had  been  trans- 
mitted to  me  under  the  expectation  that  I should  present 
them,  I felt  it  my  duty  to  say  I should  not  support  them. 
And,  sir,  the  reason  which  I gave  at  that  time  for  declin- 
ing to  support  them  was  precisely  the  same  reason  which 
the  gentleman  from  Virginia  now  gives  for  reconsidering 
this  motion — namely,  to  keep  the  discussion  of  the  subject 
out  of  the  House.  I said,  sir,  that  I believed  this  discus- 
sion would  be  altogether  unprofitable  to  the  House  and  to 
the  country  ; but,  in  deference  to  the  sacred  right  of 
petition,  I moved  that  these  fifteen  petitions,  all  of  which 
were  numerously  signed,  should  be  referred  to  the  com- 
mittee on  the  District  of  Columbia,  at  the  head  of  which 
was,  at  that  time,  a distinguished  citizen  of  Virginia,  now, 
I regret  to  say — and  the  whole  country  has  occasion  to  re- 
gret— no  more.  These  petitions  were  thus  referred,  and 
after  a short  period  of  time,  the  chairman  of  the  committee 
ou  the  District  of  Columbia  made  a report  to  this  House, 
which  report  was  read,  and  unanimously  accepted  ; and 
nothing  more  has  been  heard  of  these  petitions  from  that 
day  to  this.  In  taking  the  course  I then  took,  I was  not 


312  SLAVERY  IN  THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA. 


sustained  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  my  own  constituents; 
there  were  mauy  among  them,  persons  as  respectable  and 
as  entitled  to  consideration  as  any  others,  who  disapproved 
of  the  course  I pursued  on  that  occasion. 

Attempts  were  made  within  the  district  I then  repre- 
sented to  get  up  meetings  of  the  people  to  instruct  me  to 
pursue  a different  course,  or  to  multiply  petitions  of  the 
same  character.  These  efforts  were  continued  during  the 
whole  of  that  long  session  of  Congress  ; but,  I am  gratified 
to  add,  without  any  other  result  than  that,  from  one  single 
town  of  the  district  which  I had  the  honor  to  represent,  a 
solitary  petition  was  forwarded  before  the  close  df  the  ses- 
sion, with  a request  that  I would  present  it  to  the  House. 
Sir,  I did  present  it,  and  it  was  referred  to  the  same  com- 
mittee on  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  I believe  nothing 
more  has  been  heard  of  it  since.  From  the  experience 
of  this  session,  I was  perfectly  satisfied  that  the  true  and 
only  method  of  keeping  this  subject  out  of  discussion  was, 
to  take  that  course  ; to  refer  all  petitions  of  this  kind  to  the 
committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia,  or  some  other  com- 
mittee of  the  House,  to  receive  their  report,  and  to  accept 
it  unanimously.  This  does  equal  justice  to  all  parties  in 
the  country  ; it  avoids  the  discussion  of  this  agitating  ques- 
tion on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other,  it  pays  due  respect 
to  the  right  of  the  constituent  to  petition. 

Two  years  afterwards,  similar  petitions  were  presented, 
and  at  that  time  an  effort  made,  without  success,  to  do  that 
which  has  now  been  done  successfully  in  one  instance.  An 
effort  was  made  to  lay  these  petitions  on  the  table ; the 
House  did  not  accede  to  the  proposition  : they  referred  the 
petitions  as  they  had  been  before  referred,  and  with  the 
same  result.  For,  from  the  moment  that  these  petitions 
are  referred  to  the  committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia, 
they  all  go  to  the  family  vault  “ of  all  the  Capulcts,”  and  you 
will  never  hear  of  them  afterwards. 


SLAVERY-IN  THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA.  313 


Extract  from  the  speech  of  Hon.  Silas  Wright,  of  New 
York,  in  the  Senate,  Jan.  19,  1836,  on  the  subject  of  abol- 
ishing slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Mr.  Wright  said  he  was  not  to  discuss  the  subject  of 
slavery  in  the  abstract.  He  knew  it,  and  the  people  of  the 
North,  as  a body,  knew  it  only  as  it  existed  under  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  was  sanctioned  by 
it.  They  thought  of  it  in  that  light,  and  in  that  light  only, 
so  far  as  its  existence  in  these  States  is  concerned,  and  so  far 
as  the  quiet  of  the  country  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union 
are  involved  in  any  agitation  of  the  subject.  In  that  sense, 
it  was  not  a question  for  discussion  in  that  body. 

Neither  was  he  to  debate  the  question  of  slavery  in  the 
sovereign  States  of  this  Union.  The  sacred  and  invaluable 
compact  which  constitutes  us  one  people,  had  not  given  to 
Congress  the  jurisdiction  over  that  question.  It  was  left 
solely  and  exclusively  to  those  States,  and,  in  his  humble 
judgment,  it  ought  never  to  be  debated  here  in  any  manner 
whatever. 

Mr.  W.  said  he  would  go  farther,  and  say  that  he  did  not 
purpose  to  trouble  the  Senate  with  a discussion  upon  the 
propriety  of  any  action  on  the  part  of  Congress  in  reference 
to  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  or  in 
regard  to  the  constitutional  power  of  Congress  over  that 
subject.  He  had  listened  with  pleasure  and  profit  to  the 
able  argument  of  the  honorable  senator  froih  Virginia  (Mr. 
Leigh),  upon  the  powers  of  Congress,  and  had  marked  his 
concessions  of  power  equal  to  that  possessed  by  the  legisla- 
tures of  the  respective  States  of  Maryland  and  Virginia 
over  the  same  subject  within  those  States.  He  had  not 
studied  the  question  himself,  because  he  was  able  to  mark 
out  his  own  course,  with  perfect  satisfaction  to  his  own 
mind,  without  examining  either  the  constitutional  powers 
of  Congress,  or  the  powers  of  those  State  legislatures.  He 
was  ready  to  declare  his  opinion  to  be,  that  Congress  ought 


3 i ± SLAVERY  IN  THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA. 


noi  to  act  in  this  matter,  but  upon  the  impulse  of  the  two 
Stales  surrounding  the  District,  and  then  in  a manner  pre- 
cisely graduated  by  the  action  of  those  States  upon  the  same 
subject.  Had  the  Constitution,  in  terms,  given  to  Con- 
gress all  power  in  the  matter,  this  would,  with  his  present 
views  and  feelings,  be  his  opinion  of  the  expedient  rule  of 
acMon,  and  entertaining  this  opinion,  an  examination  into 
tbs  power  to  act  had  been  unnecessary  to  determine  his 
voU  upon  the  prayer  of  these  petitions.  He  was  ready 
pi’OTaptly  to  reject  their  prayer,  and  he  deeply  regretted 
that  he  was  not  permitted  so  to  vote  without  debate. 

Ej, tract  of  a speech  delivered  in  the  United  States  Senate, 
by  Mr.  Buchanan,  in  1835. 

“The  Constitution  has,  in  the  clearest  terms,  recognized 
the  right  of  property  in  slaves.  It  prohibits  any  State  into 
which  a slave  may  have  fled  from  passing  any  law  to  dis- 
charge him  from  slavery,  and  declares  that  he  shall  be  de- 
livered up  by  the  authorities  of  such  State  to  his  master. 
Nay,  more,  it  makes  the  existence  of  slavery  the  foundation 
of  political  powers,  by  giving  to  those  States  within  which 
it  exists  representatives  in  Congress,  not  only  in  proportion 
to  the  whole  number  of  free  persons,  but  also  in  proportion 
to  three-fifths  of  the  number  of  slaves. 

“ Sir,  this  question  of  domestic  slavery  is  a weak  point 
in  our  institutions.  Tariffs  may  be  raised  almost  to  pro- 
hibition, and  then  they  may  be  reduced  so  as  to  yield  no 
adequate  protection  to  the  manufacturer;  our  Union  is 
sufficiently  strong  to  endure  the  shock.  Pierce  political 
storms  may  arise ; the  moral  elements  of  the  country  may 
be  convulsed  by  the  struggles  of  ambitious  men  for  the 
highest  honors  of  government.  The  sunshine  does  not  more 
certainly  succeed  the  storm  than  that  all  will  again  be  peace. 
Touch  this  question  of  slavery  seriously — let  it  once  be 
made  manifest  to  the  people  of  the  South  that  they  cannot 


SLAVERY  IN'  THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA.  315 


live  with  us,  except  in  a state  of  continual  apprehension  and 
alarm  for  their  wives  and  their  children,  for  all  that  is  near 
and  dear  to  them  upon  the  earth,  and  the  Union  is  from  that 
moment  dissolved.  It  does  not  then  become  a question  of 
expediency,  but  of  self-preservation.  It  is  a question  brought 
home  to  the’  fireside,  to  the  domestic  circle,  of  every  white 
man  in  the  Southern  States.” 

OPINIONS  OP  MR.  BENTON. 

At  the  session  of  1835,  Mr.  Buchanan  presented  to  the 
Senate  the  memorial  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  adopted  at 
their  Cain  quarterly  meeting,  requesting  Congress  to  abol- 
ish slavery  and  the  slave  trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Mr.  Benton  rose  to  express  his  concurrence  in  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  Senator  from  Pennsylvania,  [Mr.  Buchanan,] 
that  the  consideration  of  this  subject  be  postponed  until 
Monday.  It  had  come  up  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  to- 
day, and  the  postponement  would  give  an  opportunity  for 
senators  to  reflect,  and  to  confer  together,  and  to  conclude 
what  was  best  to  be  done,  where  all  were  united  in  wishing 
the  same  end,  namely,  to  allay,  and  not  to  produce  excite- 
ment. He  had  risen  for  this  purpose  ; but,  being  on  his 
feet,  he  would  say  a few  words  on  the  general  subject,  which 
the  presentation  of  these  petitions  had  so  suddenly  and  un- 
expectedly brought  up. 

With  respect  to  the  petitioners,  and  those  with  whom 
they  acted,  he  had  no  doubt  but  that  many  of  them  were 
good  people,  aiming  at  benevolent  objects,  and  endeavoring  to 
ameliorate  the  condition  of  one  part  of  the  human  race,  with- 
out inflicting  calamities  on  another  part ; but  they  were  mis- 
taken in  their  mode  of  proceeding  ; and  so  far  from  accom- 
plishing any  part  of  their  object,  the  whole  effect  of  their 
interposition  was  to  aggravate  the  condition  of  those  in 
whose  behalf  they  were  interfering. 

But  there  was  another  part,  and  he  meant  to  speak  of  the 


316  SLAVERY  IN  THE  DISTRICT  OF  COI  JMBIA 


abolitionists  generally,  as  the  body  containing  the  part  of 
which  he  spoke  ; there  was  another  part  whom  he  could  not 
qualify  as  good  people,  seeking  benevolent  ends  by  mistaken 
means,  but  as  incendiaries  and  agitators,  with  diabolical 
objects  in  view,  to  be  accomplished  by  wicked  and  deplora- 
ble means.  He  did  not  go  into  the  proofs  now  to  establish 
the  correctness  of  his  opinion  of  this  latter  class,  but  he  pre- 
sumed it  would  be  admitted  that  every  attempt  to  work  upon 
the  passions  of  the  slaves,  and  to  excite  them  to  murder 
their  owners,  was  a wicked  and  diabolical  attempt,  and  the 
work  of  a midnight  incendiary.  Pictures  of  slave  degrada- 
tion and  misery,  and  of  the  white  man’s  luxury  and  cruelty, 
were  attempts  of  this  kind  ; for  they  were  appeals  to  the 
vengeance  of  slaves,  and  not  to  the  intelligence  or  reason  of 
those  who  legislated  for  them.  He  [Mr.  B.]  had  had  many 
pictures  of  this  kind,  as  well  as  many  diabolical  publica- 
tions, sent  to  him  on  this  subject  during  the  last  summer; 
the  whole  of  which  he  had  cast  into  the  fire,  and  should  not 
have  thought  of  referring  to  the  circumstance  at  this  time, 
as  displaying  the  character  of  the  incendiary  part  of  the 
abolitionists,  had  he  not,  within  these  few  days  past,  and 
while  abolition  petitions  were  pouring  into  the  other  end  of 
the  Capitol,  received  one  of  these  pictures,  the  design  of 
which  could  be  nothing  but  mischief  of  the  blackest  dye.  It 
was  a print  from  an  engraving,  (and  Mr.  B.  exhibited  it, 
and  handed  it  to  senators  near  him,)  representing  a large 
and  spreading  tree  of  liberty,  beneath  whose  ample  shade  a 
slave  owner  was  at  one  time  luxuriously  reposing,  with 
slaves  fanning  him  : at  another,  carried  forth  in  a palanquin, 
to  view  the  half-naked  laborers  in  the  cotton  field,  whom 
drivers,  with  whips,  were  scourging  to  the  task.  The  print 
was  evidently  from  the  abolition  mint,  and  came  to  him  by 
some  other  conveyance  than  that  of  the  mail,  for  there  was 
no  post-mark  of  any  kind  to  identify  its  origin,  and  to  indi- 
cate its  line  of  march.  For  what  purpose  could  such  a pic- 


SLAVERY  IN  THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA.  317 

ture  be  intended,  unless  to  inflame  the  passions  of  slaves  ? 
And  why  engrave  it,  except  to  multiply  copies  for  extensive 
distribution  ? But  it  was  not  pictures  alone  that  operated 
upon  the  passions  of  the  slaves  ; but  speeches,  publications, 
petitions  presented  in  Congress,  and  the  whole  machinery 
of  abolition  societies.  None  of  these  things  went  to  the 
understandings  of  the  slaves,  but  to  their  passions,  all  im- 
perfectly understood,  and  inspiring  vague  hopes,  and  stimu- 
lating abortive  and  fatal  insurrections.  Societies,  especially, 
were  the  foundation  of  the  greatest  mischiefs.  Whatever 
might  be  their  objects,  the  slaves  never  did,  and  never  can, 
understand  them  but  in  one  way  : as  allies  organized  for 
action,  and  ready  to  march  to  their  aid  on  the  first  signal 
of  insurrection.  It  was  thus  that  the  massacre  of  San  Do- 
mingo was  made.  The  society  in  Paris,  Les  Amis  des  Noirs, 
friends  of  the  blacks,  with  its  affiliated  societies  throughout 
Prance  and  in  London,  made  that  massacre.  And  who  com- 
posed that  society  ? In  the  beginning,  it  comprised  the  ex- 
tremes of  virtue  and  of  vice  ; it  contained  the  best  and  the 
basest  of  human  kind.  Lafayette  and  the  Abbe  Gregoire, 
those  purest  of  philanthropists  ; and  Marat,  and  Anacharsis 
Cloots,  those  imps  of  hell  in  human  shape.  In  the  end, 
(for  all  such  societies  run  the  same  career  of  degeneration,) 
the  good  men,  disgusted  with  their  associates,  retired  from 
the  scene,  and  the  wicked  ruled  at  pleasure.  Declamations 
against  slavery,  publications  in  gazettes,  pictures,  petitions 
to  the  constituent  assembly,  were  the  mode  of  proceeding ; 
and  the  fish  women  of  Paris — he  said  it  with  humiliation, 
because  American  females  had  signed  the  petitions  now  be- 
fore us — the  fish  women  of  Paris,  the  very  poissardes  from 
the  quays  of  the  Seine,  became  the  obstreperous  champions 
of  West  India  emancipation. 

The  effect  upon  the  French  islands  is  known  to  the  world  ; 
but  what  is  not  known  to  the  world,  or  not  sufficiently 
known  to  it  is,  that  the  same  societies  which  wrapt  in  flames 


318  SLAVERY  IN  THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA. 


and  drenched  in  blood  the  beautiful  island,  which  was  then 
a garden  and  is  now  a wilderness,  were  the  means  of  exciting 
an  insurrection  upon  our  continent,  in  Louisiana. 

At  the  session  of  1839,  the  slavery  question  being  under 
discussion  in  the  Senate, 

Mr.  Benton  said,  I was  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  as 
connected  with  the  Missouri  question,  when  last  on  the 
floor. 

The  Senator  from  South  Carolina  [Mr.  Hayne],  could 
see  nothing  in  the  question  before  the  senate,  nor  in  any 
previous  part  of  the  debate,  to  justify  the  introduction  of 
that  topic.  Neither  could  I.  He  thought  he  saw  the 
ghost  of  the  Missouri  question  brought  in  among  us.  So 
did  I.  He  was  astonished  at  the  apparition.  I was  not : 
for  a close  observance  of  the  signs  in  the  west  had  prepared 
me  for  this  development  from  the  east.  I was  well  prepared 
for  that  invective  against  slavery,  and  for  that  amplification 
of  the  blessings  of  exemption  from  slavery,  exemplified  in 
the  condition  of  Ohio,  which  the  Senator  from  Massachu- 
setts indulged  in,  and  which  the  object  in  view  required  to 
be  derived  from  the  north  east.  I cut  the  root  of  that  deri- 
vation by  reading  a passage  from  the  journals  of  the  old 
Congress  ; but  this  will  not  prevent  the  invective  and  enco- 
mium from  going  forth  to  do  their  office  ; nor  obliterate  the 
line  which  was  drawn  between  the  free  State  of  Ohio  and 
the  slave  State  of  Kentucky.  If  the  only  results  of  this  in- 
vective and  encomium  were  to  exalt  still  higher  the  orato- 
rical fame  of  the  speaker,  I should  spend  not  a moment  in 
remarking  upon  them.  But  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that 
the  terrible  Missouri  agitation  took  its  rise  from  the  “sub- 
stance of  two  speeches”  delivered  on  this  floor;  and  since 
that  time,  anti-slavery  speeches,  coming  from  the  same 
political  and  geographical  quarter,  are  not  to  be  disregarded 
here. 

What  was  said  upon  that  topic  was  certainly  intended  for 


SLAVERY  IN  THE  DISTRICT  DF  COLUMBIA.  319 


the  north  side  of  the  Potomac  and  Ohio  ; to  the  people 
then,  of  that  division  of  the  Union,  I wish  to  address  myself 
and  to  disabuse  them  of  some  erroneous  impressions. 

To  them  I can  truly  say,  that  slavery,  in  the  abstract,  has 
but  few  advocates  or  defenders  in  the  sluveholding  States, 
and  that  slavery  as  it  is,  an  hereditary  institution  descended 
upon  us  from  our  ancestors,  would  have  fewer  advocates 
among  us  than  it  has,  if  those  who  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  subject  would  only  let  us  alone.  The  sentiment  in  favor 
of  slavery  was  much  weaker  before  those  intermeddlers  began 
their  operations  than  it  is  at  present.  The  views  of  leading 
men  in  the  North  and  the  South  were  indisputably  the  same 
in  the  earlier  periods  of  our  government.  Of  this  our  legis- 
lative history  contains  the  highest  proof.  The  foreign  slave 
trade  was  prohibited  in  Virginia,  as  soon  as  the  Revolution 
began. 

It  was  one  of  her  first  acts  of  sovereignty.  In  the  con- 
vention of  that  State  which  adopted  the  federal  Constitution, 
it  was  an  objection  to  that  instrument  that  it  tolerated  the 
African  slave  trade  for  twenty  years.  Nothing  that  has 
appeared  since  has  surpassed  the  indignant  denunciations 
of  this  traffic  by  Patrick  Henry,  George  Mason,  and  others 
in  that  convention. 

Sir,  I regard  with  admiration,  that  is  to  say,  with  wonder, 
the  sublime  morality  of  those  who  cannot  bear  the  abstract 
contemplation  of  slavery,  at  the  distance  of  five  hundred  or 
a thousaud  miles  off.  It  is  entirely  above,  that  is  to  say,  it 
affects  a vast  superiority  over  the  morality  of  the  primitive 
Christians,  the  Apostles  of  Christ,  and  Christ  himself. 

Christ  and  the  apostles  appeared  in  a province  of  the 
Roman  empire,  when  that  empire  was  called  the  Roman 
world,  and  that  world  was  filled  with  slaves.  Forty  millions 
was  the  estimated  number,  being  one-fourth  of  the  whole 
population.  Single  individuals  held  twenty  thousand  slaves. 

A freed  man,  one  who  had  himself  been  a slave,  died  the 


320  SLAVERY  IN  THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA. 

possessor  of  four  thousand — such  were  the  numbers.  The 
rights  of  the  owners  over  this  multitude  of  human  beings 
was  that  of  life  and  death,  without  protection  from  law  or 
mitigation  from  public  sentiment. 

The  scourge,  the  cross,  the  fish-pond,  the  den  of  the  wild 
beast,  and  the  arena  of  the  gladiator,  was  the  lot  of  the 
slave,  upon  the  slightest  expression  of  the  master’s  will. 

A law  of  incredible  atrocity  made  all  slaves  responsible 
with  their  own  lives  for  the  life  of  their  master  ; it  was  the 
law  that  condemned  the  whole  household  of  slaves  to  death, 
in  case  of  the  assassination  of  the  master — a law  uuder1 
which  as  many  as  four  hundred  have  been  executed  at  a 
time. 

And  the  slaves  were  the  white  people  of  Europe,  and  of 
Asia  Minor,  the  Greeks  and  other  nations,  from  whom  the 
present  inhabitants  of  the  world  derive  the  most  valuable 
productions  of  the  human  mind. 

Christ  saw  all  this — the  number  of  slaves — their  helpless 
condition — and  their  white  color,  which  was  the  same  with 
his  own  ; yet  he  said  nothing  against  slavery;  he  preached 
no  doctrines  which  led  to  insurrection  and  massacre  ; none 
which,  in  their  application  to  the  state  of  things  in  oar 
country,  would  authorize  an  inferior  race  of  blacks  to  ex- 
terminate that  superior  race  of  whites,  in  whose  ranks  he 
himself  appeared  upon  earth. 

He  preached  no  such  doctrines,  but  those  of  a contrary 
tenor,  which  inculcated  the  duty  of  fidelity  and  obedience 
on  the  part  of  the  slave — humanity  and  kindness  on  the  part 
of  the  master.  His  apostles  did  the  same. 

St.  Paul  sent  back  a runaway  slave,  Onesimus,  to  his 
owner,  with  a letter  of  apology  and  supplication. 

He  was  not  the  man  to  harbor  a runaway,  much  less  to 
entice  him  from  his  master ; and  least  of  all,  to  excite  an 
insurrection. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


iESSION  OF  CONGRESS  OF  1S39 — THB  GAG  RULE — SLAVER? 

AGITATION  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  AND 

RETIRING  OF  SOUTHERN  MEMBERS  FROM  THE  HALL. 

(. From  “ Benton's  Thirty  Years'  View.") 

The  most  angry  and  portentous  debate  which  had  yet 
taken  place  in  Congress,  occurred  at  this  time,  in  the  House 
of  Representatives.  It  was  brought  on  by  Mr.  William 
Slade,  of  Vermont,  who,  besides  presenting  petitions  of  the 
usual  abolition  character,  and  moving  to  refer  them  to  a 
committee,  moved  their  reference  to  a select  committee, 
with  instructions  to  report  a bill  in  conformity  to  their 
prayer.  This  motion,  inflammatory  and  irritating  in  itself, 
and  without  practical  legislative  object,  as  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  House  was  known  to  be  opposed  to  it,  was 
rendered  still  more  exasperating  by  the  manner  of  support- 
ing it.  The  mover  entered  into  a general  disquisition  on 
the  subject  of  slavery,  all  denunciatory,  and  was  proceeding 
to  speak  upon  it  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  and  other  States, 
in  the  same  spirit,  when  Mr.  Legare,  of  South  Carolina, 
interposed,  and  hoped  the  gentleman  from  Vermont  would 
allow  him  to  make  a few  remarks  before  he  proceeded  fur- 
ther. He  sincerely  hoped  that  the  gentleman  would  con- 
sider well  what  he  was  about,  before  he  ventured  on  such 
ground,  and  that  he  would  take  time  to  consider  what  might 
be  its  probable  cousequeuces.  He  solemnly  entreated  him 
to  reflect  on  the  possible  results  of  such  a course,  which  in- 
volved the  interests  of  a nation  and  a continent.  Ho 
would  warn  him,  not  in  the  language  of  defiance,  which  all 
21  (321) 


822 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


brave  and  wise  men  despised,  but  lie  would  warn  him  in  the 
language  of  a solemn  sense  of  duty,  that  if  there  was  a 
spirit  aroused  in  the  north  in  relation  to  this  subject,  that 
spirit  would  encounter  another  spirit  in  the  south,  full  as 
stubborn.  He  would  tell  them,  that,  when  this  question 
was  forced  upon  the  people  of  the  south,  they  would  be 
ready  to  take  up  the  gauntlet.  He  concluded  by  urging  on 
the  gentleman  from  Vermont  to  ponder  well  on  his  course 
before  he  ventured  to  proceed. 

Mr.  Slade  continued  his  remarks,  when  Mr.  Dawson, 
of  Georgia,  asked  him  for  the  floor,  that  he  might  move  an 
adjournment — evidently  to  carry  off  the  storm  which  he 
saw  rising.  Mr.  Slade  refused  to  yield  it ; so  the  motion 
to  adjourn  could  not  be  made.  Mr.  Slade  continued,  and 
was  proceeding  to  answer  his  own  inquiry,  put  to  himself — 
What  was  slavery  ? when  Mr.  Dawson  again  asked 
for  the  floor  to  make  his  motion  of  adjournment.  Mr. 
Slade  refused  it.  A visible  commotion  began  to  pervade 
the  House — members  rising,  clustering  together,  and  talk- 
ing with  animation. 

Mr.  Slade  continued,  and  was  about  reading  a judicial 
opinion  in  one  of  the  southern  States,  which  defined  a slave 
to  be  a chattel,  when  Mr.  Wise  called  him  to  order  for 
speaking  beside  the  question — the  question  being  upon  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  Mr. 
Slade’s  remarks  goiug  to  its  legal  character,  as  property,  in 
a State.  The  Speaker,  Mr.  John  White,  of  Kentucky, 
sustained  the  call,  saying  it  was  not  in  order  to  discuss  the 
subject  of  slavery  in  any  of  the  States.  Mr.  Slade  denied 
that  he  was  doing  so,  and  said  ~e  was  merely  quoting  a 
Southern  judicial  decision,  as  he  might  quote  a legal  opinion 
delivered  in  Great  Britain. 

Mr.  Robertson,  of  Virginia,  moved  that  the  House  ad- 
jOurn.  The  Speaker  pronounced  the  motion  (and  cor- 
rectly) out  of  order,  as  the  member  from  Vermont  was  in 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


323 


possession  of  the  floor  and  addressing  the  House.  He 
would,  however,  suggest  to  the  member  from  Vermont,  who 
could  not  but  observe  the  state  of  the  House,  to  confine 
himself  strictly  to  the  subject  of  his  motion. 

Mr.  Slade  went  on,  at  great  length,  when  Mr.  Petrikin, 
of  Pennsylvania,  called  him  to  order ; but  the  Chair  did 
not  sustain  the  call.  Mr.  Slade  went  on,  quoting  from  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  the  Constitutions  of  the 
several  States,  and  had  got  to  that  of  Virginia,  when  Mr. 
Wise  called  him  to  order  for  reading  papers  without  the 
leave  of  the  House.  The  Speaker  decided,  that  no  paper, 
objected  to,  could  be  read  without  the  leave  of  the  House. 

Mr.  Wise  then  said  : That  the  gentleman  had  wantonly 
discussed  the  abstract  questiou  of  slavery,  going  back  to 
the  very  first  day  of  the  creation,  instead  of  slavery  as  it 
existed  in  the  District,  and  the  powers  and  duties  of  Con- 
gress in  relation  to  it.  He  was  now  examining  the  State 
Constitutions,  to  show,  that  as  it  existed  in  the  States,  it  was 
against  them,  aud  against  the  laws  of  God  and  man.  This 
was  out  of  order. 

Mr.  Slade  explained,  and  argued  in  vindication  of  his 
course,  and  was  about  to  read  a memorial  of  Dr.  Franklin, 
and  an  opinion  of  Mr.  Madison  on  the  subject  of  slavery, 
when  the  reading  was  objected  to  by  Mr.  Griffin,  of  South 
Carolina ; and  the  Speaker  decided  they  could  not  be  read 
without  the  permission  of  the  House. 

Mr.  Slade,  without  asking  the  permission  of  the  House, 
which  he  knew  would  not  be  granted,  assumed  to  under- 
stand the  prohibition  as  extending  only  to  himself  per- 
sonally, said — “Then  I send  them  to  the  clerk:  let  him 
read  them.”  The  Speaker  decided  that  this  was  equally 
against  the  rule. 

Then  Mr.  Griffin  withdrew  the  objection,  and  Mr.  Slade 
proceeded  to  read  the  papers,  and  to  comment  upon  them 
as  he  went  on,  and  was  about  to  go  back  to  the  State  of 


324 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


Virginia,  and  show  what  had  been  the  feeling  there  on  the 
subject  of  slavery,  previous  to  the  date  of  Dr.  Franklin’s 
memorial. 

Mr.  Rhett,  of  South  Carolina,  inquired  of  the  Chair 
what  the  opinions  of  Virginia  fifty  years  ago  had  to  do 
with  the  case  ? 

The  Speaker  was  about  to  reply,  when  Mr.  Wise  rose 
with  warmth,  and  said — “He  has  discussed  the  whole  ab- 
stract question  of  slavery  : of  slavery  in  Virginia ; of  sla- 
very in  my  own  district;  and  I now  ask  all  my  colleagues 
to  retire  with  me  from  this  hall.” 

Mr.  Slade  reminded  the  Speaker  that  he  had  not  yielded 
the  floor ; but  his  progress  was  impeded  by  the  condition 
of  the  House,  and  the  many  exclamations  of  members, 
among  whom  Mr.  Halsey,  of  Georgia,  was  heard  calling  on 
the  Georgia  delegation  to  withdraw  with  him  ; and  Mr. 
Rhett  was  heard  proclaiming,  that  the  South  Carolina 
members  had  already  consulted  together,  and  agreed  to 
have  a meeting  at  three  o’clock,  in  the  committee  room  of 
the  District  of  Columbia.  Here  the  Speaker  interposed  to 
calm  the  House,  standing  up  in  his  place  and  saying  : 

“The  gentleman  from  Vermont  had  been  reminded  by 
the  Chair  that  the  discussion  of  slavery,  as  existing  within 
the  States,  was  not  in  order ; when  he  was  desirous  to  read 
a paper  and  it  was  objected  to,  the  Chair  had  stopped  him ; 
but  the  objection  had  been  withdrawn,  aud  Mr.  Slade  had 
been  suffered  to  proceed  ; he  was  now  about  to  read  another 
paper,  and  objection  was  made  ; the  Chair  would  therefore 
take  the  question  on  permitting  it  to  be  read.” 

Many  members  rose,  all  addressing  the  Chair  at  the  same 
time,  and  many  members  leaving  the  hall,  and  a general 
scene  of  noise  and  confusion  prevailing. 

Mr.  Rhett  succeeded  in  raising  his  voice  above  the  roar 
of  the  tempest  which  raged  in  the  House,  and  invited  the 
delegations  from  all  the  slave  States  to  retire  from  the  hall 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


325 


forthwith,  and  meet  in  the  committee  room  of  the  District  of 
Columbia.  The  Speaker  again  essayed  to  calm  the  House, 
aud  again  standing  up  in  his  place,  he  recapitulated  his 
attempts  to  preserve  order,  and  vindicated  the  correctness 
of  his  own  conduct — seemingly  impugned  by  many.  “ What 
his  personal  feelings  were  on  the  subject  (he  was  from  a slave 
State)  might  easily  be  conjectured.  He  had  endeavored 
to  enforce  the  rules.  Had  it  been  in  his  power  to  restrain 
the  discussion,  he  should  promptly  have  exercised  the 
power  ; but  it  was  not. 

Hr  Slade  continuing,  said  the  paper  which  he  wished  to 
read  was  of  the  Continental  Congress  of  1'7’74.  The 
Speaker  was  about  to  put  the  question  on  leave,  when  Mr. 
Cost  Johnson,  of  Maryland,  inquired  whether  it  would  be 
in  order  to  force  the  House  to  vote  that  the  member  from 
Vermont  be  not  permitted  to  proceed?  The  Speaker  re- 
plied it  would  not.  Then  Mr.  James  J.  McKay,  of  North 
Carolina,  a clear,  cool-headed,  sagacious  man — interposed 
the  objection  which  headed  Mr.  Slade. 

There  was  a rule  of  the  House,  that  when  a member  was 
called  to  order,  he  should  take  his  seat ; and  if  decided  to 
be  out  of  order,  he  should  not  be  allowed  to  speak  again, 
except  on  leave  of  the  House.  Mr.  McKay  judged  this 
to  be  a proper  occasion  for  the  enforcement  of  that  rule ; 
and  stood  up  and  said  : 

“That  the  gentleman  had  been  pronounced  out  of  order 
in  discussing  slavery  in  the  States ; and  the  rule  declared 
that  when  a member  was  so  pronounced  by  the  chair,  he 
should  take  his  seat,  and  if  any  one  objected  to  his  proceed- 
ing again,  he  should  not  do  so,  unless  by  leave  of  the  House. 
Mr.  McKay  did  now  object  to  the  gentleman  from  Vermont 
proceeding  any  further.” 

Redoubled  noise  and  confusion  ensued — a crowd  of  mem- 
bers rising  and  speaking  at  once — who  eventually  yielded 
to  the  resounding  blows  of  the  speaker’s  hammer  upon  the 


326 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


lid  of  his  desk,  and  his  apparent  desire  to  read  something 
to  the  House,  as  he  held  a book  (recognized  to  be  that  of 
the  rules)  in  his  hand.  Obtaining  quiet,  so  as  to  enable 
himself  to  be  heard,  he  read  the  rule  referred  to  by  Mr. 
McKay  ; and  said,  that  as  objection  had  now  for  the  first 
time  been  made  under  that  rule  to  the  gentleman’s  resuming 
his  speech,  the  Chair  decided  that  he  could  not  do  so  with- 
out the  leave  of  the  House.  Mr.  Slade  attempted  to  go 
on  ; the  Speaker  directed  him  to  take  his  seat  until  the 
question  of  leave  should  be  put.  Then,  Mr.  Slade  still 
keeping  his  feet,  asked  leave  to  proceed  as  in  order,  saying 
he  would  not  discuss  slavery  in  Virginia.  On  that  question 
Mr.  Allen,  of  Vermont,  asked  the  yeas  and  nays. 

Mr.  Rencher,  of  North  Carolina,  moved  an  adjournment. 
Mr.  Adams,  and  many  others,  demanded  the  yeas  and  nays 
on  this  motion,  which  were  ordered,  and  resulted  in  106 
yeas  and  63  nays — some  fifty  or  sixty  members  having  with- 
drawn. This  opposition  to  adjournment  was  one  of  the 
worst  features  of  that  unhappy  day’s  work — the  only  effect 
of  keeping  the  House  together  being  to  increase  irritation, 
and  multiply  the  chances  for  an  outbreak. 

From  the  beginning  Southern  members  had  been  in  favor 
of  it,  and  essayed  to  accomplish  it,  but  were  prevented  by 
the  tenacity  with  which  Mr.  Slade  kept  possession  of  the 
floor : and  now,  at  last,  when  it  was  time  to  adjourn  any 
way — when  the  House  was  in  a condition  in  which  no  good 
could  be  expected,  and  great  harm  might  be  apprehended, 
there  were  sixty-three  members — being  nearly  one-third  of 
the  House — willing  to  continue  it  in  session. 

The  House  then  stood  adjourned  ; and  as  the  adjourn- 
ment was  being  pronounced,  Mr.  Campbell,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, stood  upon  a chair,  and  calling  for  the  attention  of 
members,  said  : 

“ He  had  been  appointed  as  one  of  the  Southern  delega- 
tion, to  announce  that  all  those  gentlemen  who  represented 


SLAVERY  AGITATION'. 


327 


slaveholding  States,  were  invited  to  attend  the  meeting  now 
being  held  in  the  district  committee  room.” 

Members  from  the  slaveholding  States  had  repaired  in 
large  numbers  to  the  room  in  the  basement,  where  they 
were  invited  to  meet.  Various  passions  agitated  them — 
some  violent.  Extreme  propositions  were  suggested,  of 
which  Mr.  Rhett,  of  South  Carolina,  in  a letter  to  his  con- 
stituents, gave  a full  account  of  his  own — thus  : 

“ In  a private  and  friendly  letter  to  the  Editor  of  the 
Charleston  Mercury,  amongst  other  events  accompanying 
the  memorable  secession  of  the  Southern  members  from  the 
Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  I stated  to  him,  that 
I had  prepared  two  resolutions,  drawn  as  amendments  to 
the  motion  of  the  member  from  Vermont,  whilst  he  was  dis- 
cussing the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  South  declaring, 
that  the  Constitution  having  failed  to  protect  the  South  in 
the  peaceable  possession  and  enjoyment  of  their  rights  and 
peculiar  institutions,  it  was  expedient  that  the  Union  should 
be  dissolved  ; and  the  other,  appointing  a committee  of  two 
members  from  each  State,  to  report  upon  the  best  means  of 
peaceably  dissolving  it ! They  were  intended  as  amend- 
ments to  a motion  to  refer  with  instructions  to  report  a bill 
abolishing  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  I expected 
them  to  share  the  fate,  which  inevitably  awaited  the  original 
motion,  so  soon  as  the  floor  could  have  been  obtained,  viz., 
to  be  laid  upon  the  table.  My  design  in  presenting  them, 
was  to  place  before  Congress  and  the  people,  what  in  my 
opinion,  was  the  true  issue  upon  this  great  and  vital  ques- 
tion ; and  to  point  out  the  course  of  policy  by  which  it 
should  be  met  by  the  Southern  States.” 

But  extreme  counsels  did  not  prevail.  There  were  mem- 
bers present,  who  well  considered  that,  although  the  provo- 
cation was  great,  and  the  number  voting  for  such  a firebrand 
motion  was  deplorably  large,  yet  it  was  but  little  more  than 
one-fourth  of  the  House,  and  decidedly  less  than  one-half 


328 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


of  the  members  from  the  free  States  : so  that,  even  if  left  to 
the  free  State  vote  alone,  the  motion  would  have  been 
rejected. 

But  the  motion  itself,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was 
supported,  was  most  reprehensible — necessarily  leading  to 
disorder  in  the  House,  the  destruction  of  its  harmony  and 
capacity  for  useful  legislation,  tending  to  a sectional  segre- 
gation of  the  members,  the  alienation  of  feeling  between 
the  North  and  South  ; and  alarm  to  all  the  slave  holding 
States.  The  evil  required  a remedy,  but  not  the  remedy  of 
breaking  up  the  Union  ; but  one  which  might  prevent  the 
like  in  future,  while  administering  a rebuke  upon  the  past. 
That  remedy  was  found  in  adopting  a proposition  to  be 
offered  to  the  House,  which  if  agreed  to,  would  close  the 
door  against  any  discussion  upon  abolition  petitions  in 
future,  and  assimilate  the  proceedings  of  the  House,  in  that 
particular,  to  those  of  the  Senate.  This  proposition  was 
put  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Patton  of  Virginia,  to  be  offered 
as  an  amendment  to  the  rules  at  the  opening  of  the  House 
the  next  morning. 

It  was  in  these  words : 

“Resolved,  That  all  petitions,  memorials  and  papers, 
touching  the  abolition  of  slavery  or  the  buying,  selling  or 
transferring  of  slaves,  in  any  State,  District  or  Territory,  of 
the  United  States,  be  laid  on  the  table,  without  being  debated, 
printed,  read  or  referred,  and  that  no  further  action  what- 
ever shall  be  had  thereon.’’ 

Accordingly,  at  the  opening  of  the  House,  Mr.  Patton 
asked  leave  to  submit  the  resolution — which  was  read  for 
information. 

Mr.  Adams  objected  to  the  grant  of  leave. 

Mr.  Patton  then  moved  a suspension  of  the  rules — which 
motion  required  two-thirds  to  sustain  it;  and  unless  obtained, 
this  salutary  remedy  for  an  alarming  evil  (which  was  already 
in  force  in  the  Senate),  could  not  be  offered.  It  was  a test 


SLAVEKY  AGITATION. 


329 


motion,  and  on  which  the  opponents  of  abolition  agitation 
in  the  House  required  all  their  strength  : for  unless  two  to 
one,  they  were  defeated. 

Happily  the  two  to  one  were  ready,  and  on  taking  the 
yeas  and  nays,  demanded  by  an  abolition  member  (to  keep 
his  friends  to  the  track,  and  to  hold  the  free  State  anti- 
abolitionists to  their  responsibility  at  home),  the  result, 
stood  one  hundred  and  thirty-live  yeas  to  sixty  nays — the 
full  two-thirds,  and  fifteen  over.  The  yeas  on  this  import- 
ant motion,  were  : 

Messrs.  Hugh  J.  Anderson,  John  J.  Andrews,  Charles 
G.  Atherton,  'William  Beatty,  Andrew  Beirne,  John  Bell, 
Bennet  Bicknell,  Richard  Biddle,  Samuel  Birdsall,  Ratliff 
Boon,  James  W.  Bouldin,  John  C.  Brodhead,  Isaac  H. 
Bronson,  Andrew  D.  W.  Bruyn,  Andrew  Buchanan,  John 
Calhoun,  C.  C.  Cambreleng,  Wm.  B.  Campbell,  John 
Campbell,  Timothy  J.  Carter,  Wm.  B.  Carter,  Zadok  Casey, 
John  Chambers,  John  Chaney,  Reuben  Chapman,  Richard 
Cheatham,  Jonathan  Cilley,  John  F.  H.  Claiborne,  Jesse 
F.  Cleaveland,  Wm.  K.  Clowney,  Walter  Coles,  Thomas 
Corwin,  Robert  Craig,  John  W.  Crockett,  Samuel  Cush- 
man, Edmund  Deberry,  John  J.  DeGraff,  John  Dennis, 
George  C.  Dromgoole,  John  Edwards,  James  Farrington, 
John  Fairfield,  Jacob  Fry,  Jr.,  James  Garland,  James 
Graham,  Seaton  Grantland,  Abr’rn.  P.  Grant,  William 
J.  Graves,  Robert  H.  Hammond,  Thomas  L.  Hamar, 
James  Harlan,  Albert  G.  Harrison,  Richard  Hawes, 
Micajah  T.  Hawkins,  Charles  E.  Haynes,  Hopkins  Holsey, 
Orrin  Holt,  George  W.  Hopkins,  Benjamin  C.  Howard, 
Edward  B.  Hnbly,  Jabez  Jackson,  Joseph  Johnson,  Wm 
Cost  Johnson,  John  W.  Jones,  Gouverneur  Kemble,  Daniel 
Kilgore,  John  Klingensmith  Jr.,  Jacob  Lawler,  Hugh  S. 
Legare,  Henry  Logan,  Francis  S.  Lyon,  Francis  Mallory, 
James  M.  Mason,  Joshua  L.  Martin,  Abram  P.  Maury, 
Wm.  S.  May,  James  J.  McKay,  Robert  McClellan, 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


3 TT) 

Abrnitom  McClelland,  Charles  McClure,  Isaac  McKim, 
Richard  H.  Menefee,  Charles  F.  Mercer,  William  Mont- 
gomery, Fly  Moore,  Wm.  S.  Morgan,  Samuel  W.  Morris, 
Henry  A.  Muhlenberg,  John  L.  Murray,  Wm.  II.  Noble, 
John  Palmer,  Amasa  I.  Parker,  John  M.  Patton,  Lemuel 
Paynter,  Isaac  S.  Pennybacker,  David  Petrikin,  Lancelot 
Phelps,  Arnold  Plumer,  Zadock  Pratt,  John  H.  Prentiss, 
Luther  Reily,  Abraham  Rencher,  John  Robertson,  Samuel  T. 
Sawyer,  Augustine  H.  Shepperd,  Charles  Shepard,  Ebenezer 
J.  Shields,  Matthias  Sheplor,  Francis  0.  J.  Smith,  Adam 
W.  Snyder,  Wm.  W.  Southgate,  James  B.  Spencer,  Ed- 
ward Stanly,  Archibald  Stuart,  Wm.  Stone,  John  Talia- 
ferro, Wm.  Taylor,  Obadiah  Titus,  Isaac  Toucey,  Hopkins 
L.  Turney,  Joseph  R.  Hnderwood,  Henry  Tail,  David  D. 
Wagner,  Taylor  Webster,  Joseph  Weeks,  Albert  S.  White, 
John  White,  Thomas  J.  Whittlesey,  Lewis  Williams, 
Sherrod  Williams,  Jared  W.  Williams,  Joseph  L.  Williams, 
Christ’r  H.  Williams,  Henry  A.  Wise,  Archibald  Yell. 
The  Nays  were  : 

Messrs.  John  Quincy  Aoams,  James  Alexander,  Jr., 
Heman  Allen,  John  W.  Allen,  J.  Banker  Aycrigg,  Wm. 
Key  Bond,  Nathaniel  B.  Borden,  George  N.  Briggs,  Wm. 

B.  Calhoun,  Charles  D.  Coffin,  Robert  B.  Crauston,  Caleb 
Cushing,  Edward  Darlington,  Thomas  Davee,  Edward 
Davies,  Alexander  Duncan,  George  H.  Dunn,  George 
Evans,  Horace  Everett,  John  Ewing,  Isaac  Fletcher,  Mil- 
lard Fillmore,  Henry  A.  Foster,  Patrick  G.  Goods,  George 
Grennell,  Jr.,  Elisha  Haley,  Hiland  Hall,  Alexander  Har- 
per, Wm.  S.  Hastings,  Thomas  Henry,  Wm.  Herod, 
Samuel  Ingham,  Levi  Lincoln,  Richard  P.  Marvin,  Sam- 
son Mason,  John  P.  B.  Maxwell,  Thos.  M.  T.  McKennau, 
Matthias  Morris,  Calvary  Morris,  Charles  Naylor,  Joseph 

C.  Noyes,  Charles  Ogle,  Wm.  Parmenter,  Wm.  Patterson, 
Luther  C.  Peck,  Stephen  C,  Phillips,  David  Potts,  Jr., 
James  Rariden,  Joseph  F.  Randolph,  John  Reed,  Joseph 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


331 


Ridgway,  David  Russell,  Daniel  Sheffer,  Mark  IT.  Sibley. 
Wtu.  Slade,  Charles  C.  Stratton,  Joseph  L.  Tilliughast, 
Geo.  W.  Toland,  Elisha  Whittlesey,  Thomas  Jones  Yorke. 

This  was  one  of  the  most  important  votes  ever  delivered 
in  the  House.  Upon  its  issue  depended  the  quiet  of  the 
House  on  one  hand,  or  on  the  other,  the  renewal,  and  per- 
petuation of  the  scenes  of  the  day  before — ending  in  break- 
ing up  all  deliberation,  and  all  national  legislation. 

It  was  successful,  and  that  critical  step  being  safely  over, 
the  passage  of  the  resolution  was  secured — the  free  State 
friendly  vote  being  itself  sufficient  to  carry  it:  but  although 
the  passage  of  the  resolution  was  secured,  yet  resistance  to 
it  continued. 

Thus  was  stifled,  and  in  future  prevented  in  the  House, 
the  inflammatory  debates  on  these  disturbing  petitions.  It 
was  the  great  sessiou  of  their  presentation — being  offered 
by  hundreds,  and  signed  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of  per- 
sons— many  of  them  women,  who  forgot  their  sex  and  their 
duties,  to  mingle  in  such  inflammatory  work  ; some  of  them 
clergymen,  who  forgot  their  mission  of  peace,  to  stir  up 
strife  among  those  who  should  be  brethren.  Of  the  per- 
tinacious 63,  who  backed  Mr.  Slade  throughout,  the 
most  notable  were  Mr.  Adams,  who  had  been  President  of 
the  United  States — Mr.  Fillmore,  who  became  so — and 
Mr.  Pnleb  Cushing,  who  eventually  became  as  ready  to 
abolish  all  impediments  to  the  general  diffusion  of  slavery, 
as  he  then  was  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia. It  was  a portentous  contest. 

The  motion  of  Mr.  Slade  was  not  for  an  inquiry  into  the 
expediency  of  abolishing  slavery  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia (a  motion  in  itself  sufficiently  inflammatory),  but  to  get 
the  command  of  the  House  to  bring  in  a bill  for  that  pur- 
pose— which  w'ould  be' a decision  of  the  question. 

His  motion  failed.  The  storm  subsided  ; and  very  few 
of  tb't  free  State  members  who  had  staked  themselves  on 


832 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


the  issue,  lost  anything  among  their  constituents  for  the 
devotion  which  they  had  shown  to  the  Union,* 

From  Mr.  Clay’s  great  speech  in  the  U.  S.  Senate,  Feb- 
ruary 1th,  1889. 

“ It  is  well  known  to  the  Senate,”  said  Mr.  Clay,  “that 
I have  thought  that  the  most  judicious  course  with  abolition 
petitions  has  not  of  late  been  pursued  by  Congress. 

“ I have  believed  that  it  would  have  been  wisest  to  have 
received  and  referred  them,  without  opposition,  and  to  have 
reported  against  their  object  in  a calm  and  dispassionate 
and  argumentative  appeal  to  the  good  sense  of  the  whole 
community.  It  has  been  supposed,  however,  by  a majority 
of  Congress,  that  it  was  most  expedient  either  not  to  receive 
the  petitions  at  all,  or,  if  formally  received,  not  to  act 
definitively  upon  them.  There  is  no  substantial  difference 
between  these  opposite  opinions,  since  both  look  to  an  ab- 
solute rejection  of  the  prayers  of  the  petitioners.  But 
there  is  a great  difference  in  the  form  of  proceeding  ; and, 
Mr.  President,  some  experience  in  the  conduct  of  human 
affairs  has  taught,  me  to  believe  that  a neglect  to  observe 
established  forms  is  often  attended  with  more  mischievous 
consequences  than  the  infliction  of  a positive  injury.  We 
all  know  that,  even  in  private  life,  a violation  of  the  exist- 
ing usages  and  ceremonies  of  society  cannot  take  place 
without  serious  prejudice.  I fear,  sir,  that  the  abolitionists 
have  acquired  a considerable  apparent  force  by  blending 
with  the  object  which  they  have  in  view  a collateral  and 
totally  different  question  arising  out  of  an  alleged  violation 
of  the  right  of  petition.  I know  full  well,  and  take  great 

* This  resolution  afterward  became  notorious,  from  the  stigma 
cast  upon  it  by  the  abolitionists,  as  the  “Gag  Rule.”  Hon. 
David  Wilmot,  of  Pennsylvania,  among  others,  voted  against 
its  repeal  in  the  Congress  of  ’46 — 7.  It  has  since,  however, 
been  repealed. 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


333 


pleasure  in  testifying,  that  nothing  was  remoter  from  the 
intention  of  the  majority  of  the  Senate,  from  which  I dif 
fered,  than  to  violate  the  right  of  petition  in  any  case  in 
which,  according  to  its  judgment,  that  right  could  be  con 
stitutionally  exercised,  or  where  the  object  of  the  petition 
could  be  safely  or  properly  granted.  Still,  it  must  be  owned 
that  the  abolitionists  have  seized  hold  of  the  fact  of  the 
treatment  which  their  petitions  have  received  in  Congress, 
and  made  injurious  impressions  upon  the  minds  of  a large 
portion  of  the  community.  This,  I think,  might  have  been 
avoided  by  the  course  which  I should  have  been  glad  to 
have  seen  pursued. 

And  I desire  now,  Mr.  President,  to  advert  to  some  of 
those  topics  which  I think  might  have  been  usefully  em- 
bodied in  a report  by  a committee  of  the  Senate,  and  which, 
I am  persuaded,  would  have  checked  the  progress,  if  it  had 
not  altogether  arrested  the  efforts  of  abolition.  I am  sen- 
sible, sir,  that  this  work  would  have  been  accomplished  with 
much  greater  ability,  and  with  much  happier  effect,  under 
the  auspices  of  a committee,  than  it  can  be  by  me.  But, 
anxious  as  I always  am  to  contribute  whatever  is  in  my 
power  to  the  harmony,  concord,  and  happiness  of  this  great 
people,  I feel  myself  irresistibly  impelled  to  do  whatever  is  in 
my  power,  incompetent  as  I feel  myself  to  be,  to  dissuade  the 
public  from  continuing  to  agitate  a subject  fraught  with 
the  most  direful  consequences. 

There  are  three  classes  of  persons  opposed,  or  appa- 
rently opposed,  to  the  continued  existence  of  slavery  in  the 
United  States.  The  first  are  those  who,  from  sentiments 
of  philanthropy  and  humanity,  are  conscientiously  opposed 
to  the  existence  of  slavery,  but  who  are  no  less  opposed  at 
the  same  time  to  any  disturbance  of  the  peace  and  tran- 
quillity of  the  Union,  or  the  infringement  of  the  powers  of 
the  States  composing  the  confederacy.  In  this  class  may 
be  comprehended  that  peaceful  and  exemplary  society  of 


334 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


“ Friends,”  one  of  whose  established  maxims  is  an  abhorrence 
of  war  in  all  its  forms,  and  the  cultivation  of  peace  and 
good-will  amongst  mankind.  The  next  class  consists  of 
apparent  abolitionists — that  is,  those  who,  having  been  per- 
suaded that  the  right  of  petition  has  been  violated  by  Con- 
gress, co-operate  with  the  abolitionist  for  the  sole  purpose 
of  asserting  and  vindicating  that  right.  And  the  third 
class  are  the  real  ultra-abolitionists,  who  are  resolved  to 
persevere  in  the  pursuit  of  their  object  at  all  hazards,  and 
without  regard  to  any  consequences,  however  calamitous 
they  may  be.  With  them  the  rights  of  property  are  no- 
thing ; the  deficiency  of  the  powers  of  the  general  govern- 
ment is  nothing ; the  acknowledged  and  incontestable 
powers  of  the  States  are  nothing ; civil  war,  a dissolution 
of  the  Union,  and  the  overthrow  of  a government  in  which 
are  concentrated  the  fondest  hopes  of  the  civilized  world, 
are  nothing.  A single  idea  has  taken  possession  of  their 
minds,  and  onward  they  pursue  it,  overlooking  all  barriers, 
reckless  and  regardless  of  all  consequences.  With  this 
class,  the  immediate  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  and  in  the  Territory  of  Florida,  the  prohibition 
of  the  removal  of  slaves  from  State  to  State,  and  the  refusal 
to  admit  any  new  State  comprising  within  its  limits  the  in- 
stitution of  domestic  slavery,  are  but  so  many  means  con- 
ducing to  the  accomplishment  of  the  ultimate  but  perilous 
end  at  which  they  avowedly  and  boldly  aim,  are  but  so 
many  short  stages  in  the  long  and  bloody  road  to  the  dis- 
tant goal  at  which  they  would  finally  arrive.  Their  purpose 
is  abolition,  universal  abolition,  peaceably  if  it  can,  forcibly 
if  it  must.  Their  object  is  no  longer  concealed  by  the 
thinnest  veil  ; it  is  avowed  and  proclaimed.  Utterly  desti- 
tute of  constitutional  or  other  rightful  power,  living  in 
totally  distinct  communities,  as  alien  to  the  communities  in 
which  the  subject  on  which  they  would  operate  resides,  so 
far  as  concerns  political  power  over  that  subject,  as  if  they 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


835 


lived  in  Africa  or  Asia  ; they  nevertheless  promulgate  to  the 
world  their  purpose  to  be  to  manumit  forthwith,  and  with 
out  compensation,  and  without  moral  preparation,  three 
millions  of  negro  slaves,  under  jurisdictions  altogether  sepa- 
rated from  those  under  which  they  live. 

I have  said  that  immediate  abolition  of  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia  and  in  the  Territory  of  Florida,  and 
the  exclusion  of  new  States,  were  only  means  towards  the 
attainment  of  a much  more  important  end.  Unfortunately, 
they  are  not  the  only  means.  Another,  and  much  more 
lamentable  one,  is  that  which  this  class  is  endeavoring  to 
employ,  of  arraying  one  portion  against  another  portion  of 
the  Union.  With  that  view,  in  all  their  leading  prints  and 
publications,  the  alleged  horrors  of  slavery  are  depicted  in 
the  most  glowing  and  exaggerated  colors,  to  excite  the 
imaginations  and  stimulate  the  rage  of  the  people  in  the 
free  States  against  the  people  in  the  slave  States.  The 
slaveholder  is  held  up  and  represented  as  the  most  atrocious 
of  human  beings.  Advertisements  of  fugitive  slaves  to  be 
sold  are  carefully  collected  and  blazoned  forth,  to  infuse  a 
spirit  of  detestation  and  hatred  against  one  entire  and  the 
largest  section  of  the  Union.  And  like  a notorious  agitator 
upon  another  theatre,  (Mr.  Daniel  O’Connell,)  they  would 
hunt  down  and  proscribe  from  the  pale  of  civilized  society 
the  inhabitants  of  that  entire  section.  Allow  me,  Mr. 
President,  to  say,  that  whilst  I recognize  in  the  justly 
wounded  feelings  of  the  Minister  of  the  United  States  at 
the  court  of  St.  James  much  to  excuse  the  notice  which  he 
was  provoked  to  take  of  that  agitator,  in  my  humble 
opinion,  he  would  better  have  consulted  the  dignity  of  his 
station  and  of  his  country  in  treating  him  with  contemptu- 
ous silence.  That  agitator  would  exclude  us  from  European 
society — he  who  himself  can  only  obtain  a contraband  ad- 
mission, and  is  received  with  scornful  repugnance  into  it  I 
If  he  be  no  more  desirous  of  our  society  than  we  are  of 


336 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


his,  he  may  rest  assured  that  a state  of  eternal  non-inter- 
course will  exist  between  us.  Yes,  sir,  I think  the  American 
Minister  would  have  best  pursued  the  dictates  of  true  dig- 
nity by  regarding  the  language  of  that  member  of  the 
British  House  of  Commons  as  the  malignant  ravings  of  the 
plunderer  of  his  own  country,  and  the  libeler  of  a foreign 
and  kindred  people. 

But  the  means  to  which  I have  already  adverted  are 
not  the  only  ones  which  this  third  class  of  ultra-abolitionists 
are  employing  to  effect  their  ultimate  end.  They  began 
their  operations  by  professing  to  employ  only  persuasive 
means  in  appealing  to  the  humanity,  and  enlightening  the 
understandings,  of  the  slaveholding  portion  of  the  Union. 
If  there  were  some  kindness  in  this  avowed  motive,  it  must 
be  acknowledged  that  there  was  rather  a presumptuous 
display  also  of  an  assumed  superiority  in  intelligence  and 
knowledge.  For  some  time  they  continued  to  make  these 
appeals  to  our  duty  and  our  interest;  but,  impatient  with 
the  slow  influence  of  their  logic  upon  our  stupid  minds, 
they  recently  resolved  to  change  their  system  of  action. 
To  the  agency  of  their  powers  of  persuasion,  they  now 
propose  to  substitute  the  powers  of  the  ballot  box;  and  he 
must  be  blind  to  what  is  passing  before  us,  who  does  not 
perceive  that  the  inevitable  tendency  of  their  proceedings 
is,  if  these  should  be  found  insuflflcient,  to  invoke,  finally, 
the  more  potent  powers  of  the  bayonet. 

Mr.  President,  it  is  at  this  alarming  stage  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  ultra-abolitionists  that  I would  seriously 
invite  every  considerate  man  in  the  country  solemnly  to 
pause,  and  deliberately  to  reflect,  not  merely  on  our  existing 
posture,  but  upon  that  dreadful  precipice  down  which  they 
would  hurry  us.  It  is  because  these  ultra-abolitionists  have 
ceased  to  employ  the  instruments  of  reason  and  persuasion, 
have  made  their  cause  political,  and  have  appealed  to  the 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


337 


ballot  box,  that  I am  induced,  upon  this  occasion,  to  ad- 
dress you. 

There  have  been  three  epochs  in  the  history  of  our 
country  at  which  the  spirit  of  abolition  displayed  itself. 
The  first  was  immediately  after  the  formation  of  the  present 
federal  government.  When  the  Constitution  was  about 
going  into  operation,  its  powers  were  not  well  understood 
by  the  community  at  large,  and  remained  to  be  accurately 
interpreted  and  defined.  At  that  period  numerous  abo- 
lition societies  were  formed,  comprising  not  merely  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends,  but  many  other  good  men.  Petitions  were 
presented  to  Congress  praying  for  the  abolition  of  slavery. 
They  were  received  without  serious  opposition,  referred, 
and  reported  upon  by  a committee.  The  report  stated  that 
the  general  government  had  no  power  to  abolish  slavery  as 
it  existed  in  the  several  States,  and  that  these  States  them- 
selves had  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  the  subject.  The 
report  was  generally  acquiesced  in,  and  satisfaction  and 
tranquillity  ensued  ; the  abolition  societies  thereafter  limit- 
ing their  exertions,  in  respect  to  the  black  population,  to 
offices  of  humanity  within  the  scope  of  existing  laws. 

The  next  period  when  the  subject  of  slavery  and  abo- 
lition, incidentally,  was  brought  into  notice  and  discussion, 
was  on  the  memorable  occasion  of  the  admission  of  the 
State  of  Missouri  into  the  Union.  The  struggle  was  long, 
strenuous,  and  fearful.  It  is  too  recent  to  make  it  necessary 
to  do  more  than  merely  advert  to  it,  and  to  say  that  it  was 
finally  composed  by  one  of  those  compromises  characteristic 
of  our  institutions,  and  of  which  the  Constitution  itself  is 
the  most  signal  instance. 

The  third  is  that  in  which  we  now  find  ourselves,  and 
to  which  various  causes  have  contributed.  The  principal 
one,  perhaps,  is  British  emancipation  in  the  islands  adjacent 
to  our  continent.  Confounding  the  totally  different  cases 
of  the  powers  of  the  British  Parliament  and  those  of  our 
22 


338 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


Congress,  and  the  totally  different  conditions  of  the  slaves 
in  the  British  West  India  Islands  and  the  slaves  in  the 
sovereign  and  independent  States  of  this  confederacy,  super- 
ficial men  have  inferred  from  the  undecided  British  experi- 
ment the  practibility  of  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  these 
States.  All  these  are  different.  The  powers  of  the  British 
Parliament  are  unlimited,  and  often  described  to  be  omnipo- 
tent. The  powers  of  the  American  Congress,  on  the  con- 
trary, are  few,  cautiously  limited,  scrupulously  excluding  all 
that  are  not  granted,  and  above  all,  carefully  and  absolutely 
excluding  all  power  over  the  existence  or  continuance  of 
slavery  in  the  several  States.  The  slaves,  too,  upon  which 
British  legislation  operated,  were  not  in  the  bosom  of  the 
kingdom,  but  in  remote  and  feeble  colonies,  having  no  voice 
in  Parliament.  The  West  India  slaveholder  was  neither 
representative  nor  represented  in  that  Parliament.  And 
while  I most  fervently  wish  complete  success  to  the  British 
experiment  of  West  India  emancipation,  I confess  that  I 
have  fearful  forebodings  of  a disastrous  termination  of  it. 
Whatever  it  may  be,  I think  it  must  be  admitted  that,  if 
the  British  Parliament  treated  the  West  India  slaves  as 
freemen,  it  also  treated  the  West  India  freemen  as  slaves. 
If,  instead  of  these  slaves  being  separated  by  a wide  ocean 
from  the  parent  country,  three  or  four  millions  of  African 
negro  slaves  had  been  dispersed  over  England,  Scotland, 
Wales,  and  Ireland,  and  their  owners  had  been  members 
of  the  British  Parliament — a case  which  would  have  pre- 
sented some  analogy  to  that  of  our  own  country — does  any 
one  believe  that  it  would  have  been  expedient  or  practicable 
to  have  emancipated  them,  leaving  them  to  remain,  with  all 
their  embittered  feelings,  in  the  United  Kingdom,  boundless 
as  the  powers  of  the  British  Parliament  are  ? 
*****  * 

And  now,  Mr.  President,  allow  me  to  consider  the  sev- 
eral cases  in  which  the  authority  of  Congress  is  invoked  by 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


these  abolition  petitioners  upon  the  subject  of  domestic 
slavery.  The  first  relates  to  it  as  it  exists  in  the  District 
of  Columbia.  The  following  is  the  provision  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  in  reference  to  that  matter  : 

“ To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever 
over  such  District  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square,)  as  may 
by  cession  of  particular  States,  and  the  acceptance  of  Con- 
gress, become  the  seat  of  government  of  the  United  States.” 

This  provision  preceded,  in  point  of  time,  the  actual  ces- 
sions which  were  made  by  the  States  of  Maryland  and 
Yirginia.  The  object  of  the  cession  was  to  establish  a seat 
of  government  of  the  United  States,  and  the  grant  in  the 
Constitution  of  exclusive  legislation,  must  be  understood, 
and  should  be  always  interpreted,  as  having  relation  to  the 
object  of  the  cession.  It  was  with  a full  knowledge  of  this 
clause  in  the  Constitution,  that  those  two  States  ceded  to 
the  general  government  the  ten  miles  square  constituting 
the  District  of  Columbia.  In  making  the  cession,  they 
supposed  that  it  was  to  be  applied,  and  applied  solely,  to 
the  purposes  of  a seat  of  government,  for  which  it  was 
asked.  When  it  was  made,  slavery  existed  in  both  those 
commonwealths,  and  in  the  ceded  territory,  as  it  now  con- 
tinues to  exist  in  all  of  them.  Neither  Maryland  nor  Yir- 
ginia could  have  anticipated,  that,  whilst  the  institution 
remained  within  their  respective  limits,  its  abolition  would 
be  attempted  by  Congress  without  their  consent.  Neither 
of  them  would  probably  have  made  an  unconditional  cession 
if  they  could  have  anticipated  such  a result. 

From  the  nature  of  the  provision  in  the  Constitution,  and 
the  avowed  object  of  the  acquisition  of  the  territory,  two 
duties  arise  on  the  part  of  Congress.  The  first  is,  to  ren- 
der the  District  available,  comfortable,  and  convenient,  as 
a seat  of  government  of  the  whole  Union  ; the  other  is,  to 
govern  the  people  within  the  District  so  as  best  to  promote 
their  happiness  and  prosperity.  These  objects  are  totally 


340 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


distinct  in  their  nature,  and,  in  interpreting  and  exercising 
the  grant  of  the  power  of  exclusive  legislation,  that  distinc- 
tion should  be  constantly  borne  in  mind.  Is  it  necessary, 
in  order  to  render  this  place  a comfortable  seat  of  the  gen- 
eral government,  to  abolish  slavery  within  its  limits  ? No 
one  can  or  will  advance  such  a proposition.  The  govern- 
ment has  remained  here  near  forty  years  without  the  slight- 
est inconvenience  from  the  presence  of  domestic  slavery. 
Is  it  necessary  to  the  well-being  of  the  people  of  the  Dis- 
trict, that  slavery  should  be  abolished  from  amongst  them  ? 
They  not  only  neither  ask  nor  desire,  but  are  almost  unani- 
mously opposed  to  it.  It  exists  here  in  the  mildest  and 
most  mitigated  form.  In  a population  of  39,834,  there 
were,  at  the  last  enumeration  of  the  population  of  the 
United  States,  but  6,119  slaves.  The  number  has  not 
probably  much  increased  since.  They  are  dispersed  over 
the  ten  miles  square,  engaged  in  the  quiet  pursuits  of  hus- 
bandry, or  in  menial  offices  in  domestic  life.  If  it  were 
necessary  to  the  efficiency  of  this  place  as  a seat  of  the 
general  government,  to  abolish  slavery,  which  is  utterly 
denied,  the  abolition  should  be  confined  to  the  necessity 
which  prompts  it,  that  is,  to  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington itself.  Beyond  those  limits,  persons  concerned  in 
the  government  of  the  United  States  have  no  more  to  do 
with  the  inhabitants  of  the  District,  than  they  have  with  the 
inhabitants  of  the  adjacent  counties  of  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia which  lie  beyond  the  District. 

To  abolish  slavery  within  the  District  of  Columbia, 
whilst  it  remains  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  situated  as  that 
District  is,  within  the  very  heart  of  those  States,  would  ex- 
pose them  to  great  practical  inconvenience  and  annoyance. 
The  District  would  become  a place  of  refuge  and  escape  for 
fugitive  slaves  from  the  two  States,  and  a place  from  which 
a spirit  of  discontent,  insubordination  and  insurrection, 
might  be  fostered  and  encouraged  in  the  two  States.  Sup- 


SLAVERY  AG1TA.I0N. 


341 


pose,  as  was  at  one  time  under  consideration,  Pennsylvania 
had  granted  ten  miles  square  within  its  limits,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  a seat  of  the  general  government : could  Congress, 
without  a violation  of  good  faith,  have  introduced  aud  es- 
tablished slavery  within  the  bosom  of  that  Commonwealth 
in  the  ceded  territory,  after  she  had  abolished  it  so  long  ago 
as  the  year  1780  ? Yet  the  inconvenience  to  Pennsylvania 
in  the  case  supposed,  would  have  been  much  less  than  that 
to  Virginia  and  Maryland,  in  the  case  we  are  arguing. 

It  was  upon  this  view  of  the  subject  that  the  Senate,  at 
its  last  session,  solemnly  declared,  that  it  would  be  a viola- 
tion of  implied  faith,  resulting  from  the  transaction  of  the 
cession,  to  abolish  slavery  within  the  District  of  Columbia. 
And  would  it  not  be  ? By  implied  faith,  is  meant,  that 
when  a grant  is  made  for  one  avowed  and  declared  purpose, 
known  to  the  parties,  the  grant  should  not  be  perverted  to 
another  purpose,  uuavowed  and  undeclared,  and  injurious 
to  the  grautor.  The  grant  in  the  case  we  are  considering, 
of  the  territory  of  Columbia,  was  for  a seat  of  government. 
Whatever  power  is  necessary  to  accomplish  that  object,  is 
carried  along  by  the  grant.  But  the  abolition  of  slavery,  is 
not  necessary  to  the  enjoyment  of  this  site  as  a seat  of  the 
general  government.  The  grant  in  the  Constitution  of  ex- 
clusive power  of  legislation  over  the  District,  was  made  to 
insure  the  exercise  of  an  exclusive  authority  of  the  general 
government,  to  render  this  place  a safe  and  secure  seat  of 
government,  and  to  promote  the  well-being  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  District.  The  power  granted  ought  to  be  in- 
terpreted and  exercised  solely  to  the  end  for  which  it  was 
granted.  The  language  of  the  grant  was  necessarily  broad, 
comprehensive,  and  exclusive,  because  all  the  exigencies 
which  might  arise  to  render  this  a secure  seat  of  the  gen- 
eral government,  could  not  have  been  foreseen  and  provided 
for.  The  language  may  possibly  be  sufficiently  comprehen- 
sive to  include  a power  of  abolition  ; but  it  would  not  at 


342 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


all  thence  follow,  that  the  power  could  be  rightfully  exer- 
cised. The  case  may  be  resembled  to  that  of  a plenipo- 
tentiary invested  with  a plenary  power,  but  who  at  the  same 
time  has  positive  instructions  from  his  government  as  to 
the  kind  of  treaty  which  he  is  to  negotiate  and  conclude. 
If  he  violates  those  instructions,  and  concludes  a different 
treaty,  his  government  is  not  bound  by  it ; and  if  the  foreign 
government  is  aware  of  the  violation,  it  acts  in  bad  faith. 
Or  it  may  be  illustrated  by  an  example  drawn  from  private 
life.  I am  an  endorser  for  my  friend  on  a note  discounted 
in  bank.  He  applies  to  me  to  endorse  another,  to  renew  it, 
which  I do,  in  blank.  Now,  this  gives  him  power  to  make 
any  other  use  of  my  note  which  he  pleases.  But  if,  instead 
of  applying  it  to  the  intended  purpose,  he  goes  to  a broker 
and  sells  it,  thereby  doubling  my  responsibility  for  him,  he 
commits  a breach  of  trust,  and  a violation  of  the  good  faith 
implied  in  the  whole  transaction. 

***>K**:|:* 
The  first  impediment  is  the  utter  and  absolute  want  of  all 
power  on  the  part  of  the  general  government  to  effect  the 
purpose.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  creates  a 
limited  government,  comprising  comparatively  few  powers, 
and  leaving  the  residuary  mass  of  political  power  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  several  States.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
subject  of  slavery  interposed  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties 
in  the  formation  of  the  Constitution.  It  was  happily  com- 
promised and  adjusted  in  a spirit  of  harmony  and  patriotism. 
According  to  that  compromise,  no  power  whatever  was 
granted  to  the  general  government  in  respect  to  domestic 
slavery,  but  that  which  relates  to  taxation  and  representa- 
tion, and  the  power  to  restore  fugitive  slaves  to  their  lawful 
owners.  All  other  power  in  regard  to  the  institution  of 
slavery  was  retained  exclusively  by  the  States,  to  be  exer- 
cised by  them  severally,  according  to  their  respective  views 
of  their  own  peculiar  interest.  The  Constitution  of  the 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


343 


United  States  never  could  have  been  formed  upon  the  prin- 
ciple of  investing  the  general  government  with  authority  to 
abolish  the  institution  at  its  pleasure.  It  never  can  be 
continued  for  a single  day  if  the  exercise  of  such  a power 
be  assumed  or  usurped. 

But  it  may  be  contended  by  these  ultra-abolitionists  that 
their  object  is  not  to  stimulate  the  action  of  the  general 
government,  but  to  operate  upon  the  States  themselves  in 
which  the  institution  of  domestic  slavery  exists.  If  that  be 
their  object,  why  are  these  abolition  societies  and  move- 
ments all  confined  to  the  free  States  ? Why  are  the  slave 
States  wantonly  and  cruelly  assailed  ? Why  do  the  aboli  - 
tion presses  teem  with  publications  tending  to  excite  hatred 
and  animositj  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  free 
States  against  those  of  the  slave  States  ? Why  is  Congress 
petitioned  ? The  free  States  have  no  more  power  or  right 
to  interfere  with  institutions  in  the  slave  States,  confided  to 
the  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  those  States,  than  they  would 
have  to  interfere  with  institutions  existing  in  any  foreign 
country.  What  would  be  thought  of  the  formation  of  soci- 
eties in  Great  Britain,  the  issue  of  numerous  inflammatory 
publications,  and  the  sending  out  of  lecturers  throughout 
the  kingdom,  denouncing  and  aiming  at  the  destruction  of 
any  of  the  institutions  of  France  ? Would  they  be  regarded 
as  proceedings  warranted  by  a good  neighborhood  ? Or 
wha-t  would  be  thought  of  the  formation  of  societies  in  the 
slave  States,  the  issue  of  violent  and  inflammatory  tracts,  and 
the  deputation  of  missionaries,  pouring  out  impassioned  de- 
nunciations against  institutions  under  the  exclusive  control  of 
the  free  States  ? Is  their  purpose  to  appeal  to  our  understand- 
ings, and  to  actuate  our  humanity  ? And  do  they  expect  to 
accomplish  that  purpose  by  holding  us  up  to  the  scorn,  and 
contempt,  and  detestation  of  the  people  of  the  free  States 
and  the  whole  civilized  world  ? The  slavery  which  exists 
amongst  us  is  our  affair,  not  theirs ; and  they  have  no  more 


344 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


just  concern  with  it  than  they  have  with  slavery  as  it  exists 
throughout  the  world.  Why  not  leave  it  to  us.  as  the  com- 
mon Constitution  of  our  country  has  left  it,  to  be  dealt  with, 
under  the  guidance  of  Providence,  as  best  we  may  or  can  ? 
******** 

I know  that  there  is  a visionary  dogma  which  holds  that 
negro  slaves  cannot  be  the  subject  of  property.  I shall  not 
dwell  long  with  this  speculative  abstraction.  That  is  prop- 
erty which  the  law  declares  to  be  property.  Two  hundred 
years  of  legislation  have  sanctioned  and  sanctified  negro  slaves 
as  property.  Under  all  the  forms  of  government  which 
have  existed  upon  this  continent  during  that  long  space  of 
time — under  the  British  government — under  the  colonial 
government — under  all  the  State  constitutions  and  govern- 
ments— and  under  the  federal  government  itself — they  have 
been  deliberately  and  solemnly  recognized  as  the  legitimate 
subjects  of  property.  To  the  wild  speculations  of  theorists 
and  innovators  stands  opposed  the  fact,  that  in  an  uninter 
rupted  period  of  two  hundred  years’  duration,  under  ever) 
form  of  human  legislation,  and  by  all  the  departments  of 
human  government,  African  negro  slaves  have  been  held 
and  respected,  have  descended  and  been  transferred,  as  law- 
ful and  indisputable  property.  They  were  treated  as  prop- 
erty in  the  very  British  example  which  is  so  triumphantly 
appealed  to  as  worthy  of  our  imitation.  Although  the 
West  India  planters  had  no  voice  in  the  united  Parliament 
of  the  British  Isles,  an  irresistible  sense  of  justice  extorted 
from  that  legislature  the  grant  of  twenty  millions  of  pounds 
sterling  to  compensate  the  colonists  for  their  loss  of  property. 
******** 

Sir,  I am  not  in  the  habit  of  speaking  lightly  of  the  pos- 
sibility of  dissolving  this  happy  Union.  The  Senate  knows 
that  I have  deprecated  allusions  on  ordinary  occasions  to 
that  direful  event.  The  country  will  testify  that  if  there  be 
anything  in  the  history  of  my  public  career  worthy  of  re- 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


345 


collection,  it  is  the  truth  and  sincerity  of  my  ardent  devotion 
to  its  lasting  preservation.  But  we  should  be  false  in  our  al- 
legiance to  it,  if  we  did  not  discriminate  between  the  imagi- 
nary and  real  dangers  by  which  it  may  be  assailed.  Aboli 
tion  should  no  longer  be  regarded  as  an  imaginary  danger 
The  Abolitionists,  let  me  suppose,  succeed  in  their  present 
aim  of  uniting  the  inhabitants  of  the  free  States  as  one  man 
against  the  inhabitants  of  the  slave  States.  Union  on  the 
one  side  will  beget  union  on  the  other  ; and  this  process  of 
reciprocal  consolidation  will  be  attended  with  all  the  vio- 
lent prejudices,  embittered  passions,  and  implacable  ani- 
mosities which  ever  degraded  or  deformed  human  nature. 
A virtual  dissolution  of  the  Union  will  have  taken  place, 
whilst  the  forms  of  its  existence  remain.  The  most  valuable 
elements  of  union,  mutual  kindness,  the  feelings  of  sym- 
pathy, the  fraternal  bonds,  which  now  happily  unite  us,  will 
have  been  extinguished  forever.  One  Section  will  stand  in 
menacing  and  hostile  array  against  the  other.  The  collision 
of  opinion  will  be  quickly  followed  by  the  clash  of  arms.  I 
will  not  attempt  to  describe  scenes  which  now  happily  lie 
concealed  from  our  view.  Abolitionists  themselves  would 
shrink  back  in  dismay  and  horror  at  the  contemplation  of 
desolated  fields,  conflagrated  cities,  murdered  inhabitants, 
and  the  overthrow  of  the  fairest  fabric  of  human  government 
that  ever  rose  to  animate  the  hopes  of  civilized  man.  Nor 
should  these  Abolitionists  flatter  themselves  that,  if  they 
can  succeed  in  their  object  of  uniting  the  people  of  the  free 
States,  they  will  enter  the  contest  with  a numerical  super- 
iority that  must  insure  victory.  All  history  and  experience 
proves  the  hazard  and  uncertainty  of  war.  And  we  are 
admonished  by  holy  writ  that  the  “ race  is  not  to  the  swift, 
nor  the  battle  to  the  strong.”  But  if  they  were  to  conquer, 
whom  would  they  conquer  ? A foreign  foe — one  who  had 
insulted  our  flag,  invaded  our  shores,  and  laid  our  country 
waste  ? No,  sir  ; no,  sir.  It  would  be  a conquest  without 


346 


SLAVEJRY  AGITATION. 


laurels,  without  glory — a self,  a suicidal  conquest — a con- 
quest of  brothers  over  brothers,  achieved  by  one  over  an- 
other portion  of  the  descendants  of  common  ancestors,  who 
nobly  pledging  their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred 
honor,  had  fought  and  bled,  side  by  side,  in  many  a hard 
battle  on  land  and  ocean,  severed  our  country  from  the 
British  Crown,  and  established  our  national  independence. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  slaves  States  are  sometimes  ac- 
cused by  their  Northern  brethren  with  displaying  too  much 
rashness  and  sensibility  to  the  operations  and  proceedings  of 
Abolitionists.  But,  before  they  can  be  rightly  judged,  there 
should  be  a reversal  of  conditions.  Let  me  suppose  that 
the  people  of  the  slave  States  were  to  form  societies,  sub- 
sidize presses,  make  large  pecuniary  contributions,  send 
forth  numerous  missionaries  throughout  all  their  own  bor- 
ders, and  enter  into  machinations  to  burn  the  beautiful 
capitals,  destroy  the  productive  manufactories,  and  sink  in 
the  ocean  the  gallant  ships  of  the  Northern  States.  Would 
these  incendary  proceedings  be  regarded  as  neighborly  and 
friendly,  and  consistent  with  the  fraternal  sentiments  which 
should  ever  be  cherished  by  one  portion  of  the  Union  to- 
wards another  ? Would  they  excite  no  emotion  ? occasion 
no  manifestations  of  dissatisfaction,  nor  lead  to  any  acts  of 
retaliatory  violence  ? But  the  supposed  case  falls  far  short 
of  the  actual  one  in  a most  essential  circumstance.  In  no 
contingency  could  these  capitals,  manufactories,  and  ships, 
rise  in  rebellion  and  massacre  inhabitants  of  the  Northern 
States. 

I am,  Mr.  President,  no  friend  of  slavery.  The  Searcher 
of  all  Hearts  knows  that  every  pulsation  of  mine  beats  high 
and  strong  in  the  cause  of  civil  liberty.  Wherever  it  is 
safe  and  practicable,  I desire  to  see  every  portion  of  the 
human  family  in  the  enjoyment  of  it.  But  I prefer  the 
liberty  of  my  own  country  to  that  of  any  other  people,  and 
the  liberty  of  my  own  race  to  that  of  any  other  race.  The 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


347 


liberty  of  the  descendants  of  Africa  in  the  United  States  is 
incompatible  with  the  safety  and  liberty  of  the  European 
descendants.  There  slavery  forms  an  exception — an  excep- 
tion resulting  from  a stern  and  inexorable  necessity — to  the 
generahliberty  in  the  United  States.  We  did  not  originate, 
nor  are  we  responsible  for,  this  necessity.  Their  liberty,  if 
it  were  possible,  could  only  be  established  by  violating  the 
incontestable  powers  of  the  States,  and  subverting  the 
Union  ; and  beneath  the  ruins  of  the  Union  would  be  buried, 
sooner  or  later,  the  liberty  of  both  races. 

But  if  one  dark  spot  exists  on  our  political  horizon,  is  it 
not  obscured  by  the  bright  and  effulgent  and  cheering  light 
that  beams  all  around  us?  Was  ever  a people  before  so 
blessed  as  we  are,  if  true  to  ourselves?  Did  ever  any 
other  nation  contain  within  its  bosom  so  many  elements  of 
prosperity,  of  greatness,  and  of  glory  ? Our  only  real  dan- 
ger lies  ahead,  conspicuous,  elevated,  and  visible.  It  was 
clearly  discerned  at  the  commencement,  and  distinctly  seen 
throughout  our  whole  career.  Shall  we  wantonly  run  upon 
it,  and  destroy  all  the  glorious  anticipations  of  the  high 
destiny  that  awaits  us  ? I beseech  the  Abolitionists  them- 
selves solemnly  to  pause  in  their  mad  and  fatal  course. 
Amidst  the  infinite  variety  of  objects  of  humanity  and  bene- 
volence which  invite  the  employment  of  their  energies,  let 
them  select  some  one  more  harmless,  that  does  not  threaten 
to  deluge  our  country  in  blood.  I call  upon  that  small 
portion  of  the  clergy  which  has  lent  itself  to  these  wild  and 
ruinous  schemes,  not  to  forget  the  holy  nature  of  the  divine 
mission  of  the  founder  of  our  religion,  and  to  profit  by  his 
peaceful  examples.  I intreat  that  portion  of  my  country- 
women who  have  given  their  countenance  to  abolition, 
to  remember  that  they  are  ever  most  loved  and  ho- 
nored when  moving  in  their  own  appropriate  and  delight- 
ful sphere,  and  to  reflect  that  the  ink  which  they  shed  in 
subscribing  witL  their  fai"  hands  Abolition  petitions,  may 


348 


SLAVERY  AGITATION. 


prove  but  the  prelude  to  the  shedding  of  the  bload  of  their 
brethren.  I adjure  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  free  States  to 
rebuke  and  discountenance,  by  their  opinion  and  their  ex- 
ample, measures  which  must  inevitably  lead  to  the  most 
calamitous  consequences.  And  let  us  all,  as  countrymen, 
as  friends,  and  as  brothers,  cherish  in  unfading  memory  the 
motto  which  bore  our  ancestors  triumphantly  through  all 
the  trials  of  the  Revolution,  as,  if  adhered  to,  it  will  con 
duct  their  posterity  through  all  that  may,  in  the  dispensa 
tions  of  Providence,  be  reserved  for  them. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1841  AND  1850. 

In  1841,  Mr.  Calhoun  introduced  the  following  Resolu* 
tion  in  the  Senate  : 

“ Resolved , That  it  is  a fundamental  principle  in  our 
political  creed  that  a people,  in  framing  a Constitution, 
have  the  unconditional  right  to  form  and  adopt  the  govern- 
ment which  they  may  think  best  calculated  to  secure  their 
liberty,  prosperity,  and  happiness ; and  that,  in  conformity 
thereto,  no  other  condition  is  imposed  by  the  federal  Con- 
stitution on  a State,  in  order  to  be  admitted  into  this  Union, 
except  that  its  Constitution  shall  be  republican  ; and  that 
the  imposition  of  any  other  by  Congress  would  not  only  be 
in  violation  of  the  Constitution,  bnt  in  direct  conflict  with 
the  principle  on  which  our  political  system  rests.” 

Upon  this  resolution  Mr.  Calhoun  offered  some  highly 
striking  remarks, 

“Mr.  President:  Not  only  is  that  proposition  grossly  in- 
consistent with  the  Constitution,  but  the  other,  which  under- 
takes to  say  that  no  State  shall  be  admitted  into  this  Union 
which  shall  not  prohibit  by  its  Constitution  the  existence  of 
slaves,  is  equally  a great  outrage  against  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.  Sir,  I hold  it  to  be  a fundamental 
principle  of  our  political  system  that  the  people  have  a right 
to  establish  what  government  they  may  think  proper  for 
themselves ; that  every  State  about  to  become  a member  of 
this  Union  has  a right  to  form  its  own  government  as  it 
pleases;  and  that,  in 'order  to  be  admitted,  there  is  but  one 
qualification,  and  that  is,  that  the  government  shall  be  re- 

(349) 


350 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847—50. 


publican.  There  is  no  express  provision  to  that  effect,  but 
it  results  from  that  important  section  which  guarantees  to 
every  State  in  this  Union  a republican  form  of  government. 
Now,  sir,  what  is  proposed  ? It  is  proposed,  from  a vague, 
indefinite,  erroneous,  and  most  dangerous  conception  of 
private  individual  liberty,  to  overrule  this  great  common 
liberty  which  the  people  have  of  framing  their  own  Consti 
tution  ! Sir,  the  right  of  self-government  on  the  part  of 
individuals  is  not  near  so  easily  to  be  established  by  any 
course  of  reasoning  as  the  right  of  a community  or  State  to 
self-government.  And  yet,  sir,  there  are  men  of  such  deli- 
cate feeling  on  the  subject  of  liberty — men  who  cannot  pos- 
sibly bear  what  they  call  slavery  in  one  section  of  the  country, 
although  not  so  much  slavery  as  an  institution  indispensable 
for  the  good  of  both  races — men  so  squeamish  on  this  point, 
that  they  are  ready  to  strike  down  the  higher  right  of  a 
community  to  govern  themselves,  in  order  to  maintain  the 
absolute  right  of  individuals  in  every  possible  condition  to 
govern  themselves  !” 

In  1848  Mr.  Calhoun  said: 

-x-  * * * * * 

“ There  is  a very  striking  difference  between  the  position 
in  which  the  slaveholding  and  non-slaveholding  States  stand 
in  reference  to  the  subject  under  consideration.  The  former 
desire  no  action  of  the  Government;  demand  no  law  to 
give  them  any  advantage  in  the  Territory  about  to  be 
established ; are  willing  to  leave  it,  and  other  Territories 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  open  to  all  their  citizens,  so 
long  as  they  continue  to  be  Territories,  aid  when  they  cease 
to  be  so,  to  leave  it  to  their  inhabitants  to  form  such  govern- 
ments as  may  suit  them,  without  restriction  or  condition, 
except  that  imposed  by  the  Constitution,  as  a prerequisite  for 
admission  into  the  Union.  In  short,  they  are  willing  to 
leave  the  whole  subject  where  the  Constitution  and  the 
great  and  fundamental  principles  of  self-government  place 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


351 


it.  On  the  contrary,  the  non-slaveholding  States,  instead 
of  being  willing  to  leave  it  on  this  broad  and  equal  founda- 
tion, demand  the  interposition  of  the  Government,  and  the 
passage  of  an  act  to  exclude  the  citizens  of  the  slaveholding 
States  from  emigrating  with  their  property  into  the  Terri- 
tory, in  order  to  give  their  citizens,  and  those  they  may 
permit,  the  exclusive  right  of  settling  it,  while  it  remains  in 
that  condition,  preparatory  to  subjecting  it  to  like  restric- 
tions and  conditions  when  it  becomes  a State.” 

****** 

“But  I go  further,  and  hold  that  justice  and  the  Consti- 
tution are  the  easiest  and  the  safest  guard  on  which  the 
question  can  be  settled,  regarded  in  reference  to  party.  It 
may  be  settled  on  that  ground  simply  by  non-action — by 
leaving  the  Territories  free  and  open  to  the  emigration  of 
all  the  world  so  long  as  they  continue  so ; and  when  they 
become  States  to  adopt  whatever  Constitution  they  please, 
with  the  single  restriction,  to  be  republican,  in  order  to 
their  admission  into  the  Union.  If  a party  cannot  safely 
take  this  broad  and  solid  position,  and  successfully  maintain 
it,  what  other  can  it  take  and  maintain  ? If  it  cannot 
maintain  itself  by  an  appeal  to  the  great  principles  of  justice, 
the  Constitution,  and  self-government,  to  what  other,  suffi- 
ciently strong  to  uphold  them  in  public  opinion,  can  they 
appeal  ? I greatly  mistake  the  character  of  the  people  of 
this  Union,  if  such  an  appeal  would  not  prove  successful,  if 
either  party  should  have  the  magnanimity  to  step  forward 
and  boldly  make  it.  It  would,  in  my  opinion,  be  received 
with  shouts  of  approbation  by  the  patriotic  and  intelligent  in 
every  quarter.  There  is  a deep  feeling  pervading  the 
country  that  the  Union  and  our  political  institutions  are  in 
danger,  which  such  a course  would  dispel.” 

January  12,  1848.  In  the  Senate  of  the  United  States, 


352 


THE  AGITATION  IX  1847 — 50. 


the  following  resolutions,  submitted  by  Mr.  Dickinson  on 
the  14th  ultimo,  came  up  : 

“ Resolved,  That  true  policy  requires  the  government  of 
the  United  States  to  strengthen  its  political  and  commercial 
relations  upon  this  continent,  by  the  annexation  of  such 
contiguous  territory  as  may  conduce  to  that  end,  and  can 
be  justly  obtained  ; and  that  neither  in  such  acquisition  nor 
in  the  territorial  organization  thereof  can  any  conditions 
lie  constitutionally  imposed,  or  institutions  be  provided  for 
or  established,  inconsistent  with  the  right  of  the  people 
thereof  to  form  a free  sovereign  State,  with  the  powers  and 
privileges  of  the  original  members  of  the  confederacy. 

“ Resolved,  That,  in  organizing  a territorial  government 
for  territories  belonging  to  the  United  States,  the  principles 
of  self-government  upon  which  onr  federative  system  rests 
will  be  best  promoted,  the  true  spirit  and  meaning  of  the 
Constitution  be  observed,  and  the  confederacy  strengthened, 
by  leaving  all  questions  concerning  the  domestic  policy 
therein  to  the  legislatures  chosen  by  the  people  thereof.” 

Mr.  Dickinson  said : — The  second  resolution  declares 
that  the  principle  of  self-government  upon  which  the  federa- 
tive system  rests  will  be  best  promoted,  the  true  spirit  and 
meaning  of  the  Constitution  be  observed,  and  the  con- 
federacy strengthened,  by  leaving  all  questions  concerning 
the  domestic  regulation  of  territory  to  the  legislatures 
chosen  by  the  people  thereof. 

It  must  be  conceded  by  all,  that  Congress  has  no  inherent 
power  over  this  subject,  and  no  more  right  to  legislate 
concerning  it  than  the  British  Parliament,  unless  such 
authority  is  delegated  by  the  Constitution.  The  only  clause 
of  the  Constitution  which  is  supposed  to  confer  upon  Con- 
gress the  right  to  legislate  for  the  people  of.  a territory,  is 
as  follows : 

“ The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of,  and  make 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847—50. 


353 


all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or 
other  property  belonging  to  the  United  States,”  &c. 

In  providing  legislation  for  the  District  of  Columbia, 
and  for  places  occupied  by  the  government  of  the  United 
States  for  fortifications  and  other  erections  required  by  the 
public  service,  the  Constitution  thus  confers  the  power 
upon  Congress : 

“ To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatever, 
in  such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by 
the  cession  of  particular  States,  and  the  acceptance  of  Con- 
gress, become  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all  places  pur- 
chased, by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the  State  in 
which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts,  magazines, 
arsenals,  dock-yards,  and  other  needful  buildings.” 

By  the  clause  of  the  Constitution  first  above  cited,  it  is 
evident  that  territory  is  mentioned  in  its  material,  and  not 
in  its  political  sense,  for  it  is  classed  with  “other  property,” 
and  Congress  is  authorized  to  dispose  of  and  make  all 
needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  both.  In  the  other 
section  they  are  separated,  and  Congress  is  auchorized  to 
legislate  over  all  places  occupied  for  public  structures,  but 
no  such  authority  is  extended  to  territory.  The  language 
of  the  Constitution  is  that  of  great  precision — free  from 
repetition — and  every  word  was  well  weighed  in  its  positive 
and  relative  sense.  And  if  its  framers  had  supposed  the 
phrase  “needful  rules  and  regulations”  authorized  legisla- 
tion over  places  belonging  to  the  United  States,  and  used 
for  public  service,  they  would  scarcely  have  authorized 
legislation  over  such  places  in  express  language  in  another 
section.  Again,  in  providing  legislation  for  the  District  of 
Columbia,  Congress  is  authorized  to  “ exercise  exclusive 
legislation”  over  it.  Now,  if  the  words  “needful  rules  and 
regulations”  were  deemed  proper  and  apt  language  to  con- 
fer legislative  authority  over  the  internal  affairs  of  a terri- 
23 


354 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


tory,  why  were  they  not  employed  to  authorize  legislation 
over  the  District  ? And  to  reverse  the  order  of  the  inquiry, 
if  it  was  intended  to  confer  upon  Congress  the  power  to 
legislate  over  territory,  why  was  it  not  given  in  the  same 
express  terms  as  in  authorizing  legislation  for  the  District  ? 
From  this  view,  there  is  little  doubt  that  a strict  construc- 
tion would  deny  to  Congress  the  right  to  legislate  for  the 
domestic  affairs  of  the  people  of  territory  without  their 
consent. 

Congress  has,  however,  upon  various  occasions,  exercised 
legislative  power  over  the  subject,  especially  in  incorporating 
into  the  law  organizing  territories  the  provisions  of  the 
Ordinance  of  1787 ; and  this  has  been  acquiesced  iu  by  the 
people  of  the  territory.  This  Ordinance  was  framed  under 
the  old  confederacy,  for  the. government  of  the  North- 
western Territory,  and  the  sixth  article  forbade  slavery  or 
involuntary  servitude  therein.  Its  validity  has  often  been 
questioned,  and  its  adoption  was  pronounced  by  Mr.  Madi- 
son to  be  “ without  the  least  color  of  constitutional  law.” 
But  whether  authorized  or  not,  having  been  passed  before 
the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  the  act  has  no  authority 
as  a precedent  for  like  practice  under  it. 

Extract  from  the  speech  of  Henry  Clay,  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  February  5th  and  6th,  1850. 

Mr.  Clay  said  : When  I came  to  consider  the  subject, 
and  to  compare  the  provisions  of  the  line  of  36°  30' — the 
Missouri  compromise  line — with  the  plan  which  I have  pro- 
posed for  the  accommodation  of  this  question,  said  I to  my- 
self, if  I offer  the  line  of  36°  30',  to  interdict  the  question 
of  slavery  north  of  it,  and  to  leave  it  unsettled  and  open 
south  of  it,  I offer  that  which  is  illusory  to  the  South — I 
offer  that  which  will  deceive  them,  if  they  suppose  that 
slavery  will  be  received  south  of  that  line.  It  is  better  for 
them — I said  to  myself — it  is  better  for  the  South,  that  there 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


355 


should  be  nou-action  as  to  slavery  both  north  and  south  of 
the  line — far  better  that  there  should  be  non-action  both 
sides  of  the  line,  than  that  there  should  be  action  by  the  in- 
terdiction on  the  one  side,  without  action  for  the  admission 
upon  the  other  side  of  the  line.  Is  it  not  so  ? What  is 
there  gained  by  the  South,  if  the  Missouri  line  is  extended 
to  the  Pacific,  with  the  interdiction  of  slavery  north  of  it  ? 
Why,  the  very  argument  which  has  been  most  often  and 
most  seriously  urged  by  the  South  has  been  this  : we  do  not 
want  Congress  to  legislate  upon  the  subject  of  slavery  at  all ; 
you  ought  not  to  touch  it.  You  have  no  power  over  it.  I 
do  not  concur,  as  is  well  known  from  what  I have  said  upon 
that  question,  in  this  view  of  the  subject ; but  that  is  the 
Southern  argument.  We  do  not  want  you,  say  they,  to 
legislate  upon  the  subject  of  slavery.  But  if  you  adopt  the 
Missouri  line,  and  thus  interdict  slavery  north  of  that  line, 
you  do  legislate  upon  the  subject  of  slavery,  and  you  legis- 
late for  its  restriction  without  a corresponding  equivalent 
of  legislation  south  of  that  line  for  its  admission  ; for  I in- 
sist that  if  there  be  legislation  interdicting  slavery  north  of 
the  line,  then  the  principles  of  equality  would  require  that 
there  should  be  legislation  admitting  slavery  south  of  the 
line. 

I have  said  that  I never  could  vote  for  it  myself,  and  I 
repeat  that  I never  can,  and  never  will  vote,  and  uo  earthly 
power  will  ever  make  me  vote,  to  spread  slavery  over  terri- 
tory where  it  does  not  exist.  Still,  if  there  be  a majority 
who  are  for  interdicting  slavery  north  of  the  line,  there 
ought  to  be  a majority,  if  justice  is  done  to  the  South,  to 
admit  slavery  south  of  the  line.  And  if  there  be  a majority 
to  accomplish  both  of  these  purposes,  although  I cannot 
concur  in  their  action,  yet  I shall  be  one  of  the  last  to  create 
any  disturbance  ; I shall  be  one  of  the  first  to  acquiesce  in 
that  legislation,  although  it  is  contrary  to  my  own  judgment 
and  to  my  own  conscience. 


356 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1547 — 50. 


I hope,  then,  to  keep  the  whole  of  these  matters  untouched 
by  any  legislation  of  Congress  upon  the  subject  of  slavery, 
leaving  it  open  and  undecided.  Non-action  by  Congress  is 
best  for  the  South,  and  best  for  all  the  views  which  the  South 
have  disclosed  to  us  from  time  to  time  as  corresponding  to 
their  wishes.  I know  it  has  been  said  with  regard  to  the 
territories,  and  especially  has  it  been  said  with  regard  to 
California,  that  non-legislation  upon  the  part  of  Congress 
implies  the  same  thing  as  the  exclusion  of  slavery.  That 
we  cannot  help.  That  Congress  is  not  responsible  for.  If 
nature  has  pronounced  the  doom  of  slavery  in  these  territo- 
ries— if  she  has  declared,  by  her  immutable  laws,  that  slavery 
cannot  and  shall  not  be  introduced  there — who  can  you  re- 
proach but  nature  and  nature’s  God  ? Congress  you  cannot. 
Congress  abstains.  Congress  is  passive.  Congress  is  non- 
acting, south  and  north  of  the  line ; or  rather  if  Congress 
agrees  to  the  plan  which  I propose,  extending  no  line,  it 
leaves  the  entire  theatre  of  the  whole  cession  of  these  terri- 
tories untouched  by  legislative  enactments,  either  to  exclude' 
or  admit  slavery.  Well,  I ask  again,  if  you  will  listen  to 
the  voice  of  calm  and  dispassionate  reason — I ask  of  any 
man  of  the  South,  to  rise  and  tell  me  if  it  is  not  better  for 
that  section  of  the  Union,  that  Congress  should  remain 
passive  upon  both  sides  of  the  ideal  line,  rather  than  that 
we  should  interdict  slavery  upon  the  one  side  of  that  line 
and  be  passive  upon  the  other  side  of  that  line  ? 

Extract  from  Daniel  Webster’s  speech  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  March  7th,  1850. 

Now,  as  to  California  and  New  Mexico,  I hold  slavery 
to  be  excluded  from  those  territories  by  a law  even  superior 
to  that  which  admits  and  sanctions  it  in  Texas — I mean  the  law 
of  nature,  of  physical  geography' — the  law  of  the  formation  of 
the  earth.  That  law  settles  forever,  with  a strength  beyond 
all  terms  of  human  enactment,  that  slavery  cannot  exist  in 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


857 


California  or  Hew  Mexico.  Understand  me,  sir, — I mean 
slavery  as  we  regard  it ; slaves  in  gross,  of  the  colored 
race,  transferable  by  sale  and  delivery,  like  other  property. 
******** 
I look  upon  it,  therefore,  as  a fixed  fact,  to  use  an  ex- 
pression current  at  this  day,  that  both  California  and  Hew 
Mexico  are  destined  to  be  free,  so  far  as  they  are  settled  at 
all,  which  I believe,  especially  in  regard  to  Hew  Mexico, 
will  be  very  little  for  a great  length  of  time — free  by  the 
arrangement  of  things  by  the  Power  above  us.  I have 
therefore  to  say,  in  this  respect  also,  that  this  country  is 
fixed  for  freedom,  to  as  many  persons  as  shall  ever  live 
there,  by  as  irrepealable,  and  a more  irrepealable  law,  than 
the  law  that  attaches  to  the  right  of  holding  slaves  in  Texas  ; 
and  I will  say  further,  that  if  a resolution,  or  a law,  were 
now  before  us,  to  provide  a territorial  government  for  Hew 
Mexico,  I would  not  vote  to  put  any  prohibition  into  it 
whatever.  The  use  of  such  a prohibition  would  be  idle,  as 
it  respects  any  effect  it  would  have  upon  the  territory ; and 
I would  not  take  pains  to  reaffirm  an  ordinance  of  nature, 
nor  to  re-enact  the  will  of  God.  And  I would  put  in  no 
Wilmot  proviso,  for  the  purpose  of  a taunt  or  a reproach,  i 
would  put  into  it  no  evidence  of  the  votes  of  superior 
power,  to  wound  the  pride,  even  whether  a just  pride,  a 
rational  pride,  or  an  irrational  pride — to  wound  the  pride 
of  the  gentlemen  who  belong  to  the  Southern  States.  1 
have  no  such  object,  no  such  purpose.  They  would  thffik 
it  a taunt,  an  indignity.  They  would  think  it  to  be  an  act 
taking  away  from  them  what  they  regard  a proper  equality 
of  privilege  ; and  whether  they  expect  to  realize  any  benefit 
from  it  or  not,  they  would  think  it  a theoretic  wrong — that 
something  more  or  less  derogatory  to  their  character  and 
their  rights  had  taken  place.  I propose  to  inflict  no  such 
wound  upon  anybody,  unless  something  essentially  import- 
ant to  the  country,  and  efficient  to  the  preservation  of  liberty 


358 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


and  freedom,  is  to  be  effected.  Therefore  I repeat,  sir— 
and  I repeat  it  because  I wish  it  to  be  understood — that  I 
do  not  propose  to  address  the  Senate  often  on  this  subject. 
I desire  to  pour  out  all  my  heart  in  as  plain  a manner  as 
possible ; and  I say  again,  that  if  a proposition  were  now 
here  for  a government  for  New  Mexico,  and  it  was  moved 
to  insert  a provision  for  a prohibition  of  slavery,  I would 
not  vote  for  it. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  I have  established,  so  far  as  I pro- 
posed to  go  into  any  line  of  observation  to  establish,  the 
proposition  with  which  I set  out,  and  upon  which  I propose 
to  stand  or  fall,  and  that  is,  that  the  whole  territory  of  the 
States  in  the  United  States,  or  in  the  newly-acquired  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States,  has  a fixed  and  settled  character, 
now  fixed  and  settled  by  law,  which  can  not  be  repealed  in 
the  case  of  Texas  without  a violation  of  public  faith,  and 
can  not  be  repealed  by  any  human  power  in  regard  to  Cali- 
fornia or  New  Mexico;  that,  under  one  or  other  of  these 
laws,  every  foot  of  territory  in  the  States,  or  in  the  Terri- 
tories, has  now  received  a fixed  and  decided  character. 

Sir,  if  we  were  now  making  a government  for  New  Mex- 
ico, and  anybody  should  propose  a Wilmot  proviso,  I should 
treat  it  exactly  as  Mr.  Polk  treated  that  provision  for  ex- 
cluding slavery  from  Oregon.  Mr.  Polk  was  known  to  be 
in  opinion  decidedly  averse  to  the  Wilmot  proviso ; but  he 
felt  the  necessity  of  establishing  a government  for  the  Terri- 
tory of  Oregon,  and,  though  the  proviso  was  there,  he  knew 
it  would  be  entirely  nugatory  ; and,  since  it  must  be  entirely 
nugatory,  since  it  took  away  no  right,  no  describable,  no 
estimable,  no  weighable,  or  tangible  right  of  the  South,  he 
said  he  would  sign  the  bill  for  the  sake  of  enacting  a law  to 
form  a government  in  that  Territory,  and  let  that  entirely 
useless,  and,  in  that  connection,  entirely  senseless,  proviso 
remain.  For  myself,  I will  say  that  we  hear  much  of  the 
annexation  of  Canada  ; and  if  there  be  any  man,  any  of  the 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


859 


northern  democracy,  or  any  one  of  the  free-soil  party,  who 
supposes  it  necessary  to  insert  a Wilrnot  proviso  in  a terri- 
torial government  for  New  Mexico,  that  man  will  of  course 
be  of  opinion  that  it  is  necessary  to  protect  the  everlasting 
snows  of  Canada  from  the  foot  of  slavery,  by  the  same  over- 
powering wing  of  an  act  of  Congress. 

Then,  sir,  there  are  those  abolition  societies,  of  which  I 
am  unwilling  to  speak,  but  in  regard  to  which  I have  very 
clear  notions  and  opinions.  I do  not  think  them  useful. 
I think  their  operations  for  the  last  twenty  years  have  pro- 
duced nothing  good  or  valuable.  At  the  same  time,  I know 
thousands  of  them  are  honest  and  good  men ; perfectly 
well-meaning  men.  They  have  excited  feelings ; they  think 
they  must  do  something  for  the  cause  of  liberty ; and  in 
their  sphere  of  action,  they  do  not  see  what  else  they  can 
do,  than  to  contribute  to  an  abolition  press,  or  an  abolition 
society,  or  to  pay  an  abolition  lecturer.  I do  not  mean  to 
impute  gross  motives  even  to  the  leaders  of  these  societies, 
but  I am  not  blind  to  the  consequences.  I cannot  but  see 
what  mischiefs  their  interference  with  the  South  has  pro- 
duced. And  is  it  not  plain  to  every  man  ? Let  any  gen- 
tleman who  doubts  of  that,  recur  to  the  debates  in  the  Vir- 
ginia House  of  Delegates  in  1832,  and  he  will  see  with 
what  freedom  a proposition,  made  by  Mr.  Randolph,  for 
the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery  was  discussed  in  that  body. 
Every  one  spoke  of  slavery  as  he  thought ; very  ignomi- 
nious and  disparaging  names  and  epithets  were  applied  to 
it.  The  debates  in  the  House  of  Delegates  on  that  occa- 
sion, I believe,  were  all  published.  They  were  read  by 
every  colored  man  who  could  read,  and  if  there  were  any 
who  could  not  read,  those  debates  were  read  to  them  by 
others.  At  that  time  Virginia  was  not  unwilling  nor  afraid 
to  discuss  this  question,  and  to  let  that  part  of  her  popula- 
tion know  as  much  of  it  as  they  could  learn.  That  was  in 
1832.  As  has  been  said  by  the  honorable  member  from 


360 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847—50. 


Carolina,  these  abolition  societies  commenced  their  course 
of  action  in  1835.  It  is  said — I do  not  know  how  true  it 
may  be — that  they  sent  incendiary  publications  into  the 
slave  States ; at  any  event,  they  attempted  to  arouse,  and 
did  arouse,  a very  strong  feeling ; in  other  words,  they 
created  great  agitation  in  the  North  against  Southern 
slavery.  Well,  what  was  the  result?  The  bonds  of  the 
slaves  were  bound  more  firmly  than  before ; their  rivets 
were  more  strongly  fastened.  Public  opinion,  which  in 
Virginia  had  begun  to  be  exhibited  against  slavery,  and 
was  opening  out  for  the  discussion  of  the  question,  drew 
back  and  shut  itself  up  in  its  castle.  I wish  to  know 
whether  any  body  in  Virginia  can,  now,  talk  as  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph, Gov.  McDowell,  and  others  talked  there,  openly, 
and  sent  their  remarks  to  the  press,  in  1832.  We  all 
know  the  fact,  and  we  all  know  the  cause,  and  everything 
that  this  agitating  people  have  done,  has  been,  not  to  en- 
large, but  to  restrain,  not  to  set  free,  but  to  bind  faster,  the 
slave  population  of  the  South.  That  is  my  judgment. 
Sir,  as  I'  have  said,  I know  many  abolitionists  in  my  own 
neighborhood,  very  honest,  good  people,  misled,  as  I think, 
by  strange  enthusiasm ; but  they  wish  to  do  something,  and 
they  are  called  on  to  contribute,  and  they  do  contribute ; 
and  it  is  my  firm  opinion  this  day,  that  within  the  last 
twenty  years,  as  much  money  has  been  collected  and  paid 
to  the  abolition  societies,  abolition  presses,  and  aboli- 
tion lecturers,  as  would  purchase  the  freedom  of  every 
slave — man,  woman,  and  child — in  the  State  of  Maryland, 
and  send  them  all  to  Liberia.  I have  no  doubt  of  it.  But 
I have  yet  to  learn  that  the  benevolence  of  these  abolition 
societies  has  at  any  time  taken  that  particular  turn. 

Extract  from  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun’s  speech  in  the 
Senate,  June  2tth,  1848. 

But  there  is  one  precedent  referred  to  by  the  Senator 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


361 


unconnected  with  the  power,  and  on  that  account  requires 
particular  notice.  I refer  to  the  ordinance  of  1187,  which 
was  adopted  by  the  old  Congress  of  the  Confederation  while 
the  Convention  that  framed  the  Constitution  was  in  session, 
and  about  one  year  before  its  adoption,  and  of  course  od 
the  very  eve  of  the  expiration  of  the  old  Confederation 
Against  its  introduction,  I might  object  that  the  act  of 
the  Congress  of  the  Confederation  cannot  rightfully  form 
precedents  for  this  government ; but  I waive  that.  I 
waive  also  the  objection  that  the  act  was  consummated 
when  that  government  was  in  extremis,  and  could  hardly 
be  considered  compos  mentis.  I waive  also  the  fact  that 
the  ordinance  assumed  the  form  of  a compact,  and  was 
adopted  when  only  eight  States  were  present,  when  the 
Articles  of  Confederation  required  nine  to  form  compacts. 
I waive  also  the  fact,  that  Mr.  Madisou  declared  that  the 
act  was  without  shadow  of  constitutional  authority,  and  shall 
proceed  to  show,  from  the  history  of  its  adoption,  that  it 
cannot  justly  be  considered  of  any  binding  force. 

Virginia  made  the  cession  of  the  Territory  north  of  the 
Ohio,  and  lying  between  it  and  the  Mississippi  and  the  lakes, 
in  1784.  It  now  contains  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois, Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  a very  considerable  extent 
of  territory  lying  North  of  the  latter.  Shortly  after  the 
cession,  a committee  of  three  was  raised,  of  whom  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son was  one.  They  reported  an  ordinance  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Territory,  containing,  among  other  provisions, 
one,  of  which  Mr.  Jefferson  was  the  author,  excluding 
slavery  from  the  Territory  after  the  year  1800.  It  was  re- 
ported to  Congress,  but  this  provision  was  struck  out.  On 
the  question  of  striking  out,  every  Southern  State  present 
voted  in  favor  of  it ; and  what  is  more  striking,  every 
Southern  delegate  voted  the  same  way,  Mr.  Jefferson  alone 
excepted.  The  ordinance  was  adopted  without  the  pro- 
vision. At  the  next  session,  Rufus  King,  then  a member 


362 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847—50. 


of  the  old  Congress,  moved  a proposition,  very  much  in  the 
same  shape  as  the  sixth  article  (that  which  excludes  slavery) 
in  the  ordinance  as  it  now  stands,  with  the  exception  of  its 
proviso.  It  was  referred  to  a committee,  but  there  was  no 
action  on  it.  A committee  was  moved  the  next  or  the 
subsequent  year,  which  reported  without  including  or  no- 
ticing Mr.  King’s  proposition.  Mr.  Dane  was  a member 
of  that  committee,  and  proposed  a provision  the  same  as 
that  in  the  ordinance  as  it  passed,  but  the  committee  re- 
ported without  including  it.  Finally,  another  committee 
was  raised,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Mr.  Carrington,  of 
Virginia,  and  of  which  Mr.  Dane  was  also  a member.  That 
committee  reported  without  including  the  amendment  pre- 
viously proposed  by  him.  Mr.  Dane  moved  his  proposition, 
which  was  adopted,  and  the  report  of  the  committee  thus 
amended  became  the  Ordinance  of  1787. 

It  may  be  inferred  from  this  brief  historical  sketch,  that 
the  ordinance  was  a compromise  between  the  Southern  and 
Northern  States,  of  which  the  terms  were,  that  slavery 
should  be  excluded  from  Territory  upon  condition  that  fugi- 
tive slaves,  who  might  take  refuge  in  the  Territory  should 
be  delivered  up  to  their  owners,  as  stipulated  in  the  proviso 
of  the  6th  article  of  the  Ordinance.  It  is  manifest,  from 
what  has  been  stated,  that  the  South  was  unitedly  and 
obstinately  opposed  to  the  provision  when  first  moved ; that 
the  proposition  of  Mr.  King,  without  the  proviso,  was  in 
like  manner  resisted  by  the  South,  as  may  be  inferred  from 
its  entire  want  of  success,  and  that  it  never  could  be  brought 
to  agree  fo  it  until  the  provision  for  the  delivery  up  of 
fugitive  slaves  was  incorporated  in  it.  But  it  is  well  under- 
stood that  a compromise  involves  not  a surrender,  but 
simply  a waiver  of  the  right  or  power ; and  hence,  in  the 
case  of  individuals,  it  is  a well  established  legal  principle, 
that  an  offer  to  settle  by  compromise  a litigated  claim,  is 
no  evidence  against  the  justice  of  the  claim  on  the  side  of 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


863 


the  party  making  it.  The  South,  to  her  honor,  has  ob- 
served with  fidelity  her  engagements  under  this  compro- 
mise ; in  proof  of  which,  I appeal  to  the  precedents  cited 
by  the  Senator  from  New  York,  intended  by  him  to  estab- 
lish the  fact  of  her  acquiescence  in  the  Ordinance.  I admit 
that  she  has  acquiesced  in  the  several  acts  of  Congress  to 
carry  it  into  effect ; but  the  Senator  is  mistaken  in  sup- 
posing that  it  is  proof  of  a surrender,  on  her  part,  of  the 
power  over  the  territories  which  he  claims  for  Congress. 
No,  she  never  has,  and  I trust  never  will,  make  such  a sur- 
render. Instead  of  that,  it  is  conclusive  proof  of  her 
fidelity  to  her  engagements.  She  has  never  attempted  to 
set  aside  the  ordinance,  or  to  deprive  the  territory,  and  the 
States  erected  within  its  limits,  of  any  right  or  advantage 
it  was  intended  to  confer.  But  I regret  that  as  much  can- 
not be  said  in  favor  of  the  fidelity  with  which  it  has  been 
observed  on  their  part.  With  the  single  exception  of  the 
State  of  Illinois — be  it  said  to  her  honor — every  other 
State  erected  within  its  limits  has  pursued  a course,  and 
adopted  measures,  which  have  rendered  the  stipulations  of 
the  proviso  to  deliver  up  fugitive  slaves  nugatory.  Wis- 
consin may  also  be  an  exception,  as  she  has  just  entered 
the  Union,  and  has  hardly  had  time  to  act  on  the  subject. 
They  have  gone  further,  and  suffered  individuals  to  form 
combinations,  without  an  effort  to  suppress  them,  for  the 
purpose  of  enticing  and  seducing  the  slaves  to  leave  their 
masters,  and  to  run  them  into  Canada  beyond  the  reach  of 
our  laws — in  open  violation,  not  only  of  the  stipulations  of 
the  ordinance,  but  of  the  Constitution  itself.  If  I express 
myself  strongly,  it  is  not  for  the  purpose  of  producing 
excitement,  but  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  Senate  forcibly 
to  the  subject.  My  object  is  to  lay  bare  the  subject  under 
consideration,  jnst  as  a surgeon  probes  to  the  bottom  and 
lays  open  a wound,  not  to  cause  pain  to  his  patient,  but  for 
the  purpose  of  healing  it. 

* * * * * * * 


364 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1S47 — 50. 


I come  now  to  another  precedent  of  a similar  character, 
but  differing  in  this,  that  it  took  place  under  this  govern- 
ment, and  not  under  that  of  the  old  confederation ; I refer 
to  what  is  known  as  the  Missouri  compromise.  It  is  more 
recent,  and  better  known,  and  may  be  more  readily  des- 
patched. 

After  an  arduous  struggle  of  more  than  a year,  on  the 
question  whether  Missouri  should  come  into  the  Union, 
with  or  without  restrictions  prohibiting  slavery,  a compro- 
mise line  was  adopted  between  the  North  and  the  South ; 
but  it  was  done  under  circumstances  which  made  it  nowise 
obligatory  upon  the  latter.  It  is  true,  it  was  moved  by  one 
of  her  distinguished  citizens,  [Mr.  Clay,]  but  it  is  equally 
so,  that  it  was  carried  by  the  almost  united  vote  of  the 
North  against  the  almost  united  vote  of  the  South  ; and 
was  thus  imposed  ou  the  latter  by  superior  numbers,  in 
opposition  to  her  strenuous  efforts.  The  South  has  never 
given  her  sanction  to  it,  or  assented  to  the  power  it  asserted. 
She  was  voted  down,  and  has  simply  acquiesced  iu  an 
arrangement  which  she  has  not  had  the  power  to  reverse, 
and  which  she  could  not  attempt  to  do  without  disturbing 
the  peace  and  harmony  of  the  Union — to  which  she  has 
ever  been  averse.  Acting  on  this  principle,  she  permitted 
the  Territory  of  Iowa  to  be  formed,  and  the  State  to  be 
admitted  into  the  Union,  under  the  compromise,  without 
objection  ; aud  that  is  now  quoted  by  the  Senator  from 
New  York  to  prove  her  surrender  of  the  power  he  claims 
for  Congress. 

To  add  to  the  strength  of  this  claim,  the  advocates  of 
the  power  hold  up  the  name  of  Jefferson  in  its  favor,  and 
go  so  far  as  to  call  him  the  author  of  the  so-called  Wilmot 
proviso,  which  is  but  a general  expression  of  a power  of 
which  the  Missouri  compromise  is  a case  of  its  application. 
If  we  may  judge  by  his  opinion  of  that  case,  what  his 
opinion  was  of  the  principle,  instead  of  being  the  author  of 


THE  AGITATION"  IN  1847 — 50. 


365 


tie  proviso,  or  being  in  its  favor,  no  one  could  be  more 
deadly  hostile  to  it.  In  a letter  addressed  to  the  elder 
Adams,  in  1819,  in  answer  to  one  from  him,  he  uses  these 
remarkable  expressions  in  reference  to  the  Missouri  question : 

“ The  banks,  bankrupt  law,  manufactures,  Spanish  treaty, 
are  nothing.  These  are  occurrences  which,  like  waves  in  a 
storm,  will  pass  nnder  the  ship.  But  the  Missouri  question 
is  a breaker  on  which  we  lose  the  Missouri  country  by 
revolt,  and  what  more,  G-od  only  knows.” 

To  understand  the  full  force  of  these  expressions,  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  questions  enumerated  were  the 
great  and  exciting  political  questions  of  the  day  on  which 
parties  divided.  The  banks  and  bankrupt  law  had  long 
been  so.  Manufactures  (or  what  has  since  been  called  the 
protective  tariff)  was  at  the  time  a subject  of  great  excite- 
ment, as  was  the  Spanish  treaty;  that  is,  the  treaty  by 
which  Florida  was  ceded  to  the  Union,  and  by  which  the 
western  boundary  between  Mexico  and  the  United  States 
was  settled,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
All  these  exciting  party  questions  of  the  day,  Mr.  Jefferson 
regarded  as  nothing  compared  with  the  Missouri  question. 
He  looked  on  all  of  them  as,  in  their  nature,  fugitive  ; and, 
to  use  his  own  forcible  expression,  “ would  pass  off  under 
the  ship  of  state  like  waves  in  a storm.”  Not  so  that  fatal 
question.  It  was  a breaker  on  which  it  was  destined  to  be 
stranded  ; and  yet,  his  name  is  quoted  by  the  incendiaries 
of  the  present  day  in  support  of,  and  as  the  author  of,  a 
proviso  which  would  give  indefinite  and  universal  extension 
of  this  fatal  question  to  all  the  territories.  It  was  compro- 
mised the  next  year  by  the  adoption  of  the  line  to  which  I 
have  referred.  Mr.  Holmes,  of  Maine,  long  a member  of 
this  body,  who  voted  for  the  measure,  addressed  a letter  to 
Mr.  Jeffersou,  enclosing  a copy  of  his  speech  on  the  occa- 
sion. It  drew  out  an  answer  from  him  which  ought  to  be 
treasured  up  in  the  heart  of  every  man  who  loves  the  coun- 


366 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847  -50. 


try  and  its  institutions.  It  is  brief : I will  send  it  to  the 
Secretary  to  be  read.  The  time  of  the  Senate  cannot  be 
better  occupied  than  in  listening  to  it : 

“ Monticello,  April  22,  1820. 

“ I thank  you,  dear  sir,  for  the  copy  you  have  been  so 
kind  as  to  send  me  of  the  letter  to  your  constituents  on  the 
Missouri  question.  It  is  a perfect  justification  to  them.  I 
had  for  a long  time  ceased  to  read  newspapers,  or  pay  any 
attention  to  public  affairs,  confident  they  were  in  good 
hands,  and  content  to  be  a passenger  in  our  bark  to  the 
shore  from  which  I am  not  distant.  But  this  momentous 
question,  like  a fire-bell  in  the  night,  awakened  and  filled 
me  with  terror.  I considered  it  at  once  as  the  knell  of  the 
Union.  It  is  hushed,  indeed,  for  the  moment;  but  this  is 
a reprieve  only,  not  a final  sentence.  A geographical  line, 
coinciding  with  a marked  principle,  moral  and  political, 
once  conceived  and  held  up  to  the  angry  passions  of  men, 
will  never  be  obliterated ; and  every  new  irritation  will 
mark  it  deeper  and  deeper.  I can  say,  with  conscious  truth, 
that  there  is  not  a man  on  earth  who  would  sacrifice  more 
than  I would  to  relieve  us  from  this  heavy  reproach,  in  any 
practicable  way.  The  cession  of  that  kind  of  property 
(for  so  it  is  misnamed)  is  a bagatelle,  which  would  not  cost 
me  a second  thought,  if,  in  that  way,  a general  emancipa- 
tion and  expatriation  could  be  effected  ; and  gradually,  and 
with  due  sacrifices,  I think  it  might  be.  But  as  it  is,  we 
have  the  wolf  by  the  ears,  and  we  can  neither  hold  him,  nor 
safely  let  him  go.  Justice  is  in  one  scale,  and  self-preserva- 
tion in  the  other.  Of  one  thing  I am  certain,  that  as  the 
free  passage  of  slaves  from  one  State  to  another  would  not 
make  a slave  of  a single  human  being  who  would  not  be  so 
without  it,  sc  their  diffusion  over  a greater  surface  would 
make  them  individually  happier,  and  proportionally  facili- 
tate the  accomplishment  of  their  emancipation,  by  dividing 
the  burden  on  a greater  number  of  coadjutors.  An  absti 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50.  So7 

nence,  too,  from  this  act  of  power,  would  remove  the 
jealousy  excited  by  the  undertaking  of  Congress  to  regu- 
late the  condition  of  the  different  descriptions  of  men  com- 
posing a State.  This  certainly  is  the  exclusive  right  of 
every  State,  which  nothing  in  the  Constitution  has  taken 
from  them,  and  given  to  the  general  government.  Could 
Congress,  for  example,  say  that  the  non-freemen  of  Con- 
necticut shall  be  freemen,  or  that  they  shall  not  emigrate 
into  any  other  State  ? 

“I  regret  that  I am  now  to  die  in  the  belief,  that  the  use- 
less sacrifice  of  themselves  by  the  generation  of  1776,  to 
acquire  self-government  and  happiness  to  their  country,  is 
to  be  thrown  away  by  the  unwise  and  unworthy  passions  of 
their  sons,  and  that  my  only  consolation  is  to  be,  that  I live 
not,  to  weep  over  it.  If  they  would  but  dispassionately 
weigh  the  blessings  they  will  throw  away,  against  an  abstract 
principle,  more  likely  to  be  effected  by  union  than  by  seces- 
sion, they  would  pause  before  they  would  perpetrate  this  act 
of  suicide  on  themselves,  and  of  treason  against  the  hopes 
of  the  world.  To  yourself  as  the  faithful  advocate  of  the 
Union,  I tender  the  offering  of  my  high  esteem  and  re- 
spect. “THOMAS  JEFFERSON.” 

“John  Holmes,  Esq.” 

Mark  his  prophetic  words ! Mark  his  profound  reason- 
ing! 

“It  [the  question]  is  hushed  for  the  moment.  But  this 
is  a reprieve  only,  not  a final  sentence.  A geographical 
line  coinciding  with  a marked  principle,  moral  a,nd  political, 
once  conceived  and  held  up  to  the  angry  passions  of  men, 
will  never  he  obliterated,  and  every  new  irritation  will 
mark  it  deeper  and  deeper .” 

Twenty-eight  years  have  passed  since  these  remarkable 
words  were  penned,  and  there  is  not  a thought  which  time 
has  not  thus  far  verified,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  will  continue 


368 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


to  verify  until  the  whole  will  be  fulfilled.  Certain  it  is, 
that  he  regarded  the  compromise  line  as  utterly  inadequate 
to  arrest  that  fatal  course  of  events  which  his  keen  sagacity 
anticipated  from  the  question.  It  was  but  a “reprieve.” 
Mark  the  deeply  melancholy  impression  which  it  made  on 
his  mind : 

“ I regret  that  I am  to  die  in  the  belief  that  the  useless 
sacrifice  of  themselves  by  the  generation  of  1176,  to  acquire 
self-government  and  happiness  for  themselves,  is  to  be  thrown 
away  by  the  unwise  aud  unworthy  passions  of  their  sons, 
and  that  my  only  consolation  is  to  be,  that  I shall  live  not 
to  weep  over  it.” 

Can  any  one  believe,  after  listening  to  this  letter,  that 
Jefferson  is  the  author  of  the  so-called  Wilmot  proviso,  or 
ever  favored  it  ? And  yet  there  are  at  this  time  strenuous 
efforts  making  in  the  North  to  form  a purely  sectional  party 
on  it,  and  that,  too,  under  the  sanction  of  those  who  profess 
the  highest  veneration  for  his  character  and  principles  1 
****** 

I have  now  concluded  the  discussion,  so  far  as  it  relates 
v > the  power ; and  have,  I trust,  established,  beyond  con- 
tioversy,  that  the  Territories  are  free,  and  open  to  all  of 
the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  that  there  is  no  power, 
under  any  aspect  the  subject  can  be  viewed  in,  by  which 
the  citizens  of  the  South  can  be  excluded  from  emigrating 
with  their  property  into  any  of  them.  I have  advanced  no 
argument  which  I do  not  believe  to  be  true,  nor  pushed  any 
one  beyond  what  truth  would  strictly  warrant.  But,  if 
mistaken,  if  my  arguments,  instead  of  being  sound  and  true, 
as  I hold  them  beyond  controversy  to  be,  should  turn  out 
to  be  a mere  mass  of  sophisms  ; and  if,  in  consequence,  the 
barrier  opposed  by  the  want  of  power,  should  be  sur- 
mounted, there  is  another  still  in  the  way  that  cannot  be. 
The  mere  possession  of  power,  is  not,  of  itself,  sufficient  to 
justify  its  exercise.  It  must  be,  in  addition,  shown,  that  in 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50.  369 

the  given  case  it  can  be  rightfully  and  justly  exercised. 
Under  our  system,  the  first  inquiry  is,  Does  the  Constitution 
authorize  the  exercise  of  the  power  ? If  that  be  decided 
in  the  affirmative,  the  next  is,  Can  it  be  rightfully  and 
justly  exercised  under  the  circumstances  ? And  it  is  not 
until  that,  too,  is  decided  in  the  affirmative,  that  the  ques- 
tion of  the  expediency  of  exercising  it  is  presented  for  con- 
sideration. 

How,  I put  the  question  solemnly  to  the  Senators  from 
the  North  : Can  you  rightly  and  justly  exclude  the  South 
from  the  territories  of  the  United  States,  and  monopolize 
them  for  yourselves,  even  if,  in  your  opinion,  you  should 
have  the  power  ? It  is  this  question  I wish  to  press  on 
your  attention,  with  all  due  solemnity  and  decorum.  The 
North  and  the  South  stand  in  the  relation  of  partners  in  a 
common  Union,  with  equal  dignity  and  equal  rights.  We 
of  the  South  have  contributed  our  full  share  of  funds,  and 
shed  our  full  share  of  blood,  for  the  acquisition  of  our  ter- 
ritories. Can  you,  then,  on  any  principle  of  equity  and 
justice,  deprive  us  of  our  full  share  in  their  benefit  and  ad- 
vantages ? Are  you  ready  to  affirm,  that  a majority  of  the 
partners  in  a joint  concern  have  the  right  to  monopolize 
Its  benefits,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  minority,  even  in  cases 
tvhere  they  have  contributed  their  full  share  to  the  concern  ? 

OPINIONS  OP  MESSRS.  CASS,  DICKINSON,  AND 
TOOMBS. 

In  the  Senate,  1850,  Mr.  Cass  said:  We  are  all  aware 
that  there  are  various  clauses  of  the  Constitution,  and  vari- 
ous other  sources,  foreign  and  domestic,  whence  this  right 
of  unlimited  legislation  over  the  territories  is  sought  to  be 
deduced.  One  of  these,  at  least,  is  an  express  constitutional 
grant  of  power,  and  if  it  fairly  includes  the  authority  to 
hind  the  territories  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  then  there  is 
an  end  of  this  question,  and  we  may  pass  this  proviso,  and 
24 


370 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847—50. 


regulate  all  their  other  concerns  at  our  pleasure.  But  there 
are  other  sources,  accepted  or  rejected,  as  minds  differently 
constituted  take  part  in  this  controversy,  whence  this  right 
is  derived  indirectly,  as  necessary  to  the  exercise  of  some 
power  found  in  the  Constitution,  or  of  some  other  power 
found  out  of  the  Constitution.  It  will  hardly  be  denied— 
the  time  for  denial  has  not  yet  come,  though  appearances 
indicate  it  as  fast  approaching — that  these  indirect  or  inci- 
dental powers  are  to  be  employed  no  further  than  is  neces- 
sary to  meet  the  occasion  which  calls  them  into  action. 
Derivative  in  their  nature,  they  are  limited  in  their  exercise. 
They  cannot  go  beyond  the  legitimate  object  which  is  sought 
to  be  attained.  If  the  necessity  for  social  order  in  the  Ter- 
ritories, as  many,  perhaps  as  most  of  the  speakers  contend, 
is  the  true  foundation  of  the  right  of  Congress  to  legislate 
over  them,  it  is  a right  which  extends  no  further  than  may 
be  necessary  and  proper  to  fulfill  this  first  duty  of  society. 
The  means  must  be  proper  for  the  end,  and  proportioned 
to  it ; and  if  this  end  can  be  obtained  by  the  establishment 
of  local  governments,  there  ceases  the  constitutional  action 
of  Congress,  and  the  internal  legislation  should  be  com- 
mitted to  the  people  to  be  affected  by  it.  It  is  essential, 
therefore,  to  ascertain  whence  this  power  comes,  that  we 
may  ascertain  how  far  it  may  go  ; essential,  that  we  may  not 
violate  the  Constitution  ; essential,  that  we  may  not  violate 
a fundamental  principle  of  freedom,  the  unalienable  connec- 
tion between  representation  and  internal  legislation  ; and 
essential,  that  the  people  of  the  Territories  may  conduct 
their  own  concerns  in  their  own  way — the  very  cardinal 
doctrine  of  American  freedom. 
******** 

There  is  no  clause  in  the  Constitution  which  gives  to 
Congress  express  power  to  pass  any  law  respecting  slavery 
in  the  Territories.  The  authority  is  deduced  from  various 
sources,  which  I propose  to  examine  by  and  by.  But  every 


THE  AGITATION  IN  184:7 — 50.  371 

construction  which  would  give  to  a foreign  legislature  juris- 
diction over  this  subject  of  slavery — by  foreign  I mean  not 
elected  by  the  people  to  be  affected  by  its  acts,  nor  respon- 
sible to  them — would  equally  give  it  jurisdiction  over  every 
other  department  of  life,  social  and  political,  in  the  territo- 
ries : over  the  relations  of  husband  and  wife,  of  parent  and 
child,  of  guardian  and  ward,  as  well  as  over  the  relations 
of  master  and  servant ; and  embracing  within  the  sphere  of 
its  operations  the  whole  circle  of  human  rights,  personal 
and  political — life,  liberty,  and  property,  in  all  their  various 
modes  of  enjoyment.  I say  “ the  power  of  Congress  over 
slavery;”  for,  if  we  have. power  to  abolish  it,  or  to  exclude 
it,  we  have  power  to  institute  it.  We  possess  complete  ju- 
risdiction over  the  subject ; for  there  is  no  intellect,  however 
acute,  which  can  so  limit  the  legislative  right  of  action,  if  it 
exist  at  all,  as  to  apply  it  to  the  exclusion  of  slavery,  and 
withhold  it  from  its  institution.  If  any  one  doubts  this 
proposition,  let  him  turn  to  the  Constitution  and  show  the 
limitation.  Before  I can  believe  that  such  a power  was 
granted,  so  remote  from  the  objects  of  the  government 
which  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  sought  to  establish, 
belonging  exclusively  to  the  local  questions  affecting  the 
different  communities  into  which  we  are  divided,  I must 
abandon  many  of  the  illusions  I have  cherished  respecting 
the  wisdom  of  the  statesmen  who  composed  the  Convention 
of  1787. 

******** 
Reverting  to  the  proposition  that  Congress  has  unlimited 
power  of  legislation  over  the  territories,  the  first  reflection 
which  strikes  the  inquirer  is,  that  if  this  power  were  intended 
to  be  granted,  nothing  was  more  easy  than  for  the  Conven- 
tion to  place  the  subject  beyond  doubt  by  a plain  expression 
of  the  object. 


372 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847—50. 


Extracts  of  Speech  of  Mr.  Houston,  of  Texas,  on  Mr. 
Clay’s  compromise  Resolutions,  Feb.  8,  1830. 

Mr.  Houston  said,  the  North  contend  that  they  have  a 
right  to  interfere  with  the  subject  of  slavery,  hence  the  Wil- 
mot  proviso.  The  South  contend  that  the  North  has  no 
such  right — no  right  to  interfere  with  the  subject  of  slavery 
anywhere ; and  hence  the  principle  is  contended  for  that 
Congress  does  not  possess  this  power  as  applicable  to  the 
territories — no  power  arising  from  the  terms  of  the  union 
between  the  North  and  the  South — none  growing  out  of 
the  Constitution  by  which  they  are  bound  together.  Nor 
do  I believe  that  Congress  has,  under  the  Constitution,  any 
authority  to  impose  upon  States  asking  for  admission  into  the 
Union  any  condition  whatever,  other  than  that  of  having  a 
republican  form  of  government.  In  this  view  I am  sustained 
by  high  authority — no  less  than  that  of  a statesman  of  long 
experience  and  distinguished  reputation  ; I allude  to  the 
senator  from  South  Carolina,  who  is  now  absent  from  his 
seat  [Mr.  Calhoun]  ; and  in  mentioning  him,  permit  me  to 
express  my  sincere  regret  for  the  cause  which  has  withheld 
him  from  the  discharge  of  his  duties  in  this  House.  No  one 
feels  more  sympathy  for  his  physical  sufferings  than  myself. 
That  gentleman,  in  laying  down  his  principles  upon  this 
subject  in  1847,  declared  them,  in  a resolution  of  that  day, 
almost  in  the  terms  of  the  resolution  just  read.  I had  not 
the  benefit  of  the  light  of  that  resolution  when  I drew  the 
one  submitted  by  me ; but  I believe,  had  I possessed  it,  I 
could  not  have  been  more  fortunate  in  the  expression  of  the 
very  view  which  I entertained. 
******** 

I regret  that  the  disposition  to  interfere  with  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery,  to  inhibit  the  exercise  of  their  rights  to  the 
Southern  States  and  people ; rights  which  all  free  people 
have  to  regulate  their  own  domestic  institutions — exists  at 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


373 


all  at  the  North ; that  any  should  wish  to  interfere  with,  or 
obstruct,  the  rights  of  the  people  of  the  territories  to  adopt 
such  form  of  republican  government  as  they  may  choose  ; 
for  they  would,  subsequently  to  their  admission  to  the  Union 
as  States,  have  the  obvious  right  to  modify  their  constitution 
so  as  to  adopt  or  prohibit  slavery  according  to  their  own 
will  and  pleasure.  But  I do  not  charge  this  disposition 
upon  the  people  of  the  North,  and  to  do  so  is,  I think,  to 
discourage  our  friends  there,  and  to  misinform  and  mislead 
the  South.  We  ought  to  draw  the  line  distinctly  between 
those  who  are  disposed  to  support  the  Constitution  by  sus- 
taining the  rights  of  the  South,  and  those  who  are  willing 
to  carry  on  a crusade  against  rights  pre-existent  to  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  Union  itself. 

If  the  power,  Mr.  President,  is  not  clearly  and  definitely 
given  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to  legislate  upon 
the  subject  of  the  territorial  governments,  it  strikes  me  that 
there  is  great  force  in  the  position,  that  to  assume  it  would 
be  to  violate  a fundamental  principle  of  our  government, 
which  is,  that  the  people  (by  which  I understand  the  people 
of  the  territories  as  well  as  the  people  of  the  States)  have 
the  right  of  self-government  under  the  Constitution.  Con- 
gress has  the  power  to  make  needful  rules  and  regulations 
for  the  territories  and  other  property  of  the  United  States  ; 
but  these  rules  are  temporary.  They  may  apportion  the 
land,  and  they  have  a right  to  do  whatever  may  be  necessary 
in  order  to  dispose  of  it.  They  may  provide  for  the  bound- 
aries of  the  territories,  in  order  to  give  them  compactness 
and  judicious  dimensions,  and  they  have  power  to  authorize 
the  formation  of  territorial  governments,  to  exist  no  longer 
than  until  it  may  be  convenient  for  the  people  to  legislate 
for  themselves.  Such  are  the  powers  necessarily  resulting 
from  authority  delegated  by  the  Constitution  to  Congress, 
but  beyond  this,  I think,  we  cannot  safely  go. 


374 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


Extract  from  the  Speech  of  Mr.  R.  Toombs,  of  Georgia, 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  February  27th,  1850. 

Mr.  Toombs  said : * * * * 

Those  who  claim  the  power  in  Congress  to  exclude  slavery 
from  the  territories  rely  rather  on  authority  than  principle 
to  support  it.  They  affirm,  with  singular  ignorance  of,  or 
want  of  fidelity  to,  the  facts,  that  Congress  has  from  the 
beginning  of  the  government  uniformly  claimed  and  re- 
peatedly exercised  the  power  to  discourage  slavery  and  to 
exclude  it  from  the  territories.  My  investigation  of  the 
subject  has  satisfied  my  own  mind  that  neither  position  is 
sustained  by  a single  precedent.  I exclude,  of  course,  legis- 
lation prohibiting  the  African  slave  trade  ; and  I hold  the 
ordinance  of  1787  not  to  be  within  the  principle  asserted. 
For  the  first  thirty  years  of  our  history  this  general  duty  to 
protect  this  great  interest  equally  with  every  other,  was 
universally  admitted  and  fairly  performed  by  every  depart- 
ment of  the  government.  The  act  of  1793  was  passed  to 
secure  the  delivery  up  of  fugitives  from  labor  escaping  to 
the  non-slaveholding  States : your  navigation  laws  autho- 
rized their  transportation  on  the  high  seas.  The  govern- 
ment demanded  and  repeatedly  received  compensation  for 
the  owners  of  slaves  for  injuries  sustained  in  these  lawful 
voyages  by  the  interference  of  foreign  governments.  It  not 
only  protected  us  upon  the  high  seas,  but  followed  us  to 
foreign  lands  where  we  had  been  driven  by  the  dangers  of 
the  sea,  and  protected  slave  property  when  thus  cast  even 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  hostile  municipal  laws.  The  slave 
property  of  our  people  was  protected  against  the  incursions 
of  Indians  by  our  military  power  and  public  treaties.  The 
citizens  of  Georgia  have  received  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
dollars  through  your  treaties  for  Indian  depredations  upon 
this  species  of  property.  That  clause  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent, 
which  provided  compensation  for  property  destroyed  or 
taken  by  the  British  government,  placed  slavery  precisely 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


375 


upon  tbe  same  ground  with  other  property ; and  a New 
England  man  [Mr.  Adams]  ably  and  faithfully  maintained 
the  rights  of  the  slaveholder  uuder  it  at  the  Court  of  St. 
James.  Then  the  government  was  administered  according 
to  the  Constitution,  and  not  according  to  what  is  now  called 
“the  spirit  of  the  age.”  Those  legislators  looked  for  political 
powers  and  public  duties  in  the  organic  law  which  political 
communities  had  laid  down  for  their  guidance  and  govern- 
ment. Humanity-mongers,  atheistical  socialists,  who  would 
upturn  the  moral,  social,  and  political  foundations  of  society, 
who  would  substitute  the  folly  of  men  for  the  wisdom  of 
God,  were  then  justly  considered  as  the  enemies  of  the 
human  race,  and  as  deserving  the  contempt,  if  not  the  exe- 
cration, of  all  mankind. 

Until  the  year  1820  your  territorial  legislation  was 
marked  by  the  same  general  spirit  of  fairness  and  justice. 
Notwithstanding  the  constant  assertions  to  the  contrary  by 
gentlemen  from  the  North,  up  to  that  period  no  act  was 
ever  passed  by  Congress  maintaining  or  asserting  the  pri- 
mary constitutional  power  to  prevent  any  citizen  of  the 
United  States  owning  slaves  from  removing  with  them  to 
our  territories,  and  there  receiving  legal  protection  for  this 
property.  Until  that  time  such  persons  did  so  remove  into 
all  the  territories  owned  or  acquired  by  the  United  States, 
except  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  were  there  adequately 
protected.  The  action  of  Congress  in  reference  to  the  ordi- 
nance of  1187  does  not  contravene  this  principle.  That 
ordinance  was  passed  on  the  13th  of  July,  1787,  before  the 
adoption  of  our  present  Constitution.  It  purported  on  its 
face  to  be  a perpetual  compact  between  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia, the  people  of  the  territory,  and  the  then  government 
of  the  United  States,  and  unalterable,  except  by  the  consent 
of  all  the  parties.  When  Congress  met  for  the  first  time 
under  the  new  government,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1789,  it 
found  the  government  thus  established  by  virtue  of  this  or- 


876 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


dinance  in  actual  operation;  and  on  the  7tl  of  August, 

1789,  it  passed  a law  making  the  offices  of  Governor  and 
Secretary  of  the  Territory  conform  to  the  Constitution  of 
the  new  government.  It  did  nothing  more.  It  made  no 
reference  to  the  sixth  and  last  section  of  the  ordinance  which 
inhibited  slavery.  The  division  of  that  territory  was  pro- 
vided for  in  the  ordinance ; at  each  division,  the  whole  of 
the  ordinance  was  assigned  by  Congress  to  each  of  its  parts. 
This  is  the  whole  sum  and  substance  of  the  free-soil  claim 
to  legislative  precedents.  Congress  did  not  assert  the  right 
to  alter  a solemn  compact  entered  into  with  the  former 
government,  but  gave  its  consent  by  its  legislation  to  the 
governments  established  and  provided  for  in  the  compact. 
If  the  original  compact  was  void  for  want  of  power  in  the 
old  government  to  make  it,  as  Mr.  Madison  supposed,  Con- 
gress may  not  have  been  bound  to  accept  it — it  certainly 
had  no  power  to  alter  it.  From  these  facts  and  principles 
it  is  clear  that  the  legislation  for  the  Northwest  Territory 
does  not  conflict  with  the  principle  which  I assert,  and  does 
not  afford  precedents  for  the  hostile  legislation  of  Congress 
against  slavery  in  the  territories.  That  such  was  neither 
the  principle  nor  the  policy  upon  which  the  act  of  the  7th 
of  August,  1789,  was  based,  is  further  shown  by  the  subse- 
quent action  of  the  same  Congress.  On  the  2d  of  April, 

1790,  Congress,  by  a formal  act,  accepted  the  cession  made 
by  North  Carolina  of  her  western  lands  (now  the  State  of 
Tennessee)  with  this  clause  in  the  deed  of  cession,  “ That 
no  regulations  made  or  to  be  made  by  Congress  shall  tend 
to  emancipate  slaves”  in  the  ceded  territory ; and  on  the 
26th  of  May,  1790,  passed  a territorial  bill  for  the  govern- 
ment of  all  the  territory  claimed  by  the  United  States 
south  of  the  Ohio  river.  The  description  of  this  territory 
included  all  the  lands  ceded  by  North  Carolina,  but  it  in- 
cluded a great  deal  more.  Its  boundaries  were  left  indefi- 
nite, because  there  were  conflicting  claims  to  all  the  rest  of 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


377 


the  territory.  But  this  act  put  .he  whole  country  claimed 
by  the  TJuited  States  south  of  the  Ohio  under  this  pro- 
slavery clause  of  the  North  Carolina  deed.  The  whole 
action  of  the  first  Congress  in  relation  to  slavery  in  the  ter- 
iitories  of  the  TJuited  States  seems  to  have  been  this;  It 
acquiesced  in  a government  for  the  Northwest  Territory 
based  upon  a pre-existing  anti-slavery  ordinance,  created  a 
government  for  the  country  ceded  by  North  Carolina  in 
conformity  with  the  pro-slavery  clause  in  her  deed,  and 
extended  this  pro-slavery  clause  to  all  the  rest  of  the  terri- 
tory claimed  by  the  United  States  south  of  the  Ohio  river. 
This  legislation  vindicates  the  first  Congress  from  all  impu- 
tation of  having  established  the  precedent  claimed  by  the 
friends  of  legislative  exclusion. 

The  next  territorial  act  which  was  passed  was  that  of  the 
1th  of  April,  1198.  It  was  the  first  act  of  territorial  legis- 
lation which  had  to  rest  solely  upon  original,  primary,  con- 
stitutional power  over  the  subject.  It  established  a govern- 
ment over  the  territory  included  within  the  boundaries  of  a 
line  drawn  due  east  from  the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo  river  to 
the  Chattahoochee  river,  then  down  that  river  to  the  thirty- 
first  degree  of  north  latitude,  then  west  on  that  line  to  the 
Mississippi  river,  then  up  the  Mississippi  to  the  beginning. 
This  territory  was  within  the  boundary  of  the  United  States 
as  defined  by  the  treaty  of  Paris,  and  was  not  within  the 
boundary  of  any  of  the  States.  The  charter  of  Georgia 
limited  her  boundary  on  the  south  to  the  Altamaha  river. 
In  1163,  after  the  surrender  of  her  charter,  her  limits  were 
extended  by  the  Crown  to  the  St.  Mary’s  river,  and  west 
on  the  thirty-first  degree  of  north  latitude  to  the  Mississippi. 
In  1164,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
her  boundary  was  again  altered,  and  that  portion  of  terri- 
tory within  the  boundaries  which  I have  described  was  an- 
nexed to  West  Florida,  and  thus  it  stood  at  the  Revolution 
and  the  treaty  of  peace.  Therefore  the  United  States 


378 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


claimed  it  as  common  property,  and,  in  1798,  passed  the 
act  now  under  review  for  its  government.  In  that  act  sho 
neither  claimed  nor  exerted  any  power  to  prohibit  slavery 
in  it.  And  the  question  came  directly  before  Congress,  the 
ordinance  of  1787  in  terms  was  applied  to  this  territory, 
expressly  “excepting  and  excluding  the  last  article  of  the 
ordinance,”  which  is  the  article  excluding  slavery  from  the 
Northwest  Territory.  This  is  a precedent  directly  in  point, 
and  is  against  the  exercise  of  the  power  now  claimed.  In 
1802,  Georgia  ceded  her  western  lands,  she  protected 
slavery  in  her  grant,  and  the  Government  complied  with 
her  stipulations. 

In  1803  the  United  States  acquired  Louisiana  from 
France  by  purchase.  There  is  no  special  reference  to 
slavery  in  the  treaty ; it  was  protected  only  under  the 
general  term  of  property.  This  acquisition  was  soon  after 
the  treaty  divided  into  two  Territories — the  Orleans  and 
the  Louisiana  Territories — over  both  of  which  governments 
were  established.  The  law  of  slavery  obtained  in  the  whole 
country  at  the  time  we  acquired  it.  Congress  prohibited 
the  foreign  and  domestic  slave  trade  in  these  Territories, 
but  gave  the  protection  of  its  laws  to  slave  owners  emi- 
grating thither  with  their  slaves.  Upon  the  admission  of 
Louisiana  into  the  Union,  a new  government  was  estab- 
lished by  Congress  over  the  rest  of  the  country  under  the 
name  of  the  Missouri  Territory.  This  act  also  attempted 
no  exclusion  ; slaveholders  emigrated  to  the  country  with 
their  slaves,  and  were  protected  by  their  government.  In 
1819  Florida  was  acquired  by  purchase;  its  laws  recog- 
nized and  protected  slavery  at  the  time  of  the  acquisition. 
The  United  States  extended  the  same  recognition  and 
protection. 

I have  thus  briefly  reviewed  the  whole  territorial  legis- 
lation of  Congress  from  the  beginning  of  the  government 
until  1820,  and  it  sustains  my  proposition,  that  within  that 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


379 


period  there  was  no  precedent  where  Congress  had  exer- 
cised, or  attempted  to  exercise,  any  primary  constitutional 
power  to  prevent  slaveholders  from  emigrating,  with  their 
slave  property,  to  any  portion  of  the  public  lands;  and 
that  it  had  extended  the  protection  of  its  laws  and  its  arms 
over  such  persons,  in  all  cases  except  in  the  Northwest 
Territory,  where  it  was  fettered  and  restrained  by  an  or- 
ganic law  established  before  the  formation  of  our  present 
Constitution. 

Extract  from  a speech  of  Hon.  Chester  Butler,  of  Penn- 
sylvania, in  the  House  of  Representatives,  June  8,  1850  : 

Mr.  Butler  said — Sir,  I must  be  permitted  to  express  my 
dissent  from  each  of  these  extravagant  propositions.  I do 
not  believe,  that,  to  hold  slaves  is  to  be  involved  in  moral 
guilt,  in  sin.  To  believe  this,  would  be  a surrender  of  the 
whole  question,  for  no  law  or  constitution  should  be  per- 
mitted to  exist,  creating  or  sustaining  an  unholy  institution. 
In  my  judgment,  slavery  is  not  an  unmitigated  evil,  nor  is 
it  an  unalloyed  good.  Like  most  of  the  institutions  of 
men,  it  contains  a mixture  of  the  ingredients  of  good  and 
evil.  It  has  its  advantages,  its  comforts,  its  conveniences 
and  its  benefits,  to  both  of  the  parties,  who  stand  to  each 
other  in  the  relation  of  master  and  servant,  as  well  the 
opposites  of  these  characteristics  ; and,  like  other  institu- 
tions of  this  world,  it  depends  in  its  practical  working  for 
good  or  for  evil,  not  upon  any  abstract  principle  of  right  or 
wrong,  freedom  or  bondage,  but  upon  the  character  of  those 
among  whom  it  exists,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  power 
and  the  duties  of  the  superiors  are  exercised  and  discharged. 
Theoretically,  slavery  may  be  wrong,  as  it  is  an  invasion  of 
an  absolute  right  of  the  enslaved.  The  original  abstract 
right  of  every  human  being,  of  every  hue  and  complexion, 
to  personal  liberty,  is,  I believe,  denied  by  no  one.  To 
deprive  any  human  being  of  his  personal  liberty,  except  for 


380 


THE  AGITATTOIN  IN  1847 — 50. 


crime,  and  by  due  course  of  law,  and  to  reduce  him  to  the 
condition  of  a slave,  is  a grievous  wrong.  It  by  no  means 
follows,  however,  that  this  admitted  right  should,  under  all 
circumstances,  be  at  once  vindicated  by  restoring  the  slave 
to  freedom  ; nor  is  it  true  that  the  master,  who  refuses  thus 
to  vindicate  the  right  by  setting  free  his  bondsman,  without 
regard  to  surrounding  circumstances  and  fitness  of  things, 
or  to  obligations  resting  upon  himself  to  society,  and  to  the 
slave  himself,  is  guilty  of  a grievous  wrong,  or  a wrong  of 
any  kind.  If  there  is  an  unyielding  obligation  upon  one 
master  to  free  his  slaves,  because  of  this  abstract  right,  it 
must  rest  upon  all  slaveholders  alike  : no  one  need  be  told 
of  the  disastrous  consequences  which  would  follow  the  prac- 
tical application  of  this  doctrine  by  immediate  emancipa- 
tion in  our  southern  States.  Such  a course  of  proceeding 
there,  would  be  unjust  and  cruel  to  the  slaves  themselves; 
it  would  destroy  slavery  by  destroying  the  slaves.  To  use 
a favorite  illustration,  it  would  be  like  plunging  the  knife 
to  the  heart  of  the  patient  in  attempting  to  remove  a blem- 
ish from  the  surface. 

Slavery  exists,  and  always  has  existed,  among  the  differ- 
ent nations  of  the  earth,  from  the  earliest  period  in  the 
history  of  man,  among  the  uncivilized  and  barbarous,  as 
well  as  the  uncultivated  and  refined  ; and  while,  with  the 
former,  the  treatment  of  the  slave  is  oppressive  and  cruel, 
with  the  latter  his  condition  is  much  meliorated  and  im- 
proved, being  modified  by,  and  made  to  partake,  in  some 
measure,  of  the  civilization,  if  not  the  cultivation,  of  those 
among  whom  his  lot  is  cast.  Compared  with  the  slaves  of 
other  countries,  and,  it  is  said,  even  with  the  free  peasantry 
of  some,  the  condition  of  our  southern  slaves  is  greatly 
superior,  in  all  that  constitute  the  substantial  comforts  and 
happiness  of  life.  And,  sir,  if  slavery  is  to  exist  at  all,  it 
can  be  in  no  better  form,  at  least,  no  better  has  ever  been 
suggested,  than  that  which  prevails  in  our  southern  States ; 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847—50. 


381 


nor,  in  my  judgment,  is  there  any  people,  anywhere,  in 
whose  character  for  intelligence,  benevolence  and  humanity, 
the  most  exacting  friend  of  the  negro  race  can  hope  to  find 
stronger  pledges  against  the  abuse  of  power  over  those 
who  are  bound  to  their  service,  or  surer  guarantees  that 
their  duties  and  obligations  towards  them  would  be  faith- 
fully performed,  than  are  found  in  that  of  our  southern 
fellow-citizens.  The  relation  of  master  and  servant,  im- 
poses reciprocal  duties  and  obligations  upon  the  parties — 
service  and  obedience  being  due  from  the  servant,  care  and 
protection  from  the  master.  When  these  mutual  duties  and 
obligations  are  faithfully  observed,  philanthropy  has  little 
to  weep  over  in  contemplating  the  condition  of  the  servant. 
****** 

Mr.  Chairman,  I cannot  read  the  second  section  of  the 
fourth  article  of  the  Constitution  without  coming  to  the  con- 
clusion that  it  was  intended  the  fugitives  from  service  or 
labor,  that  is  slavery,  there  spoken  of,  were  to  be  delivered 
up  promptly  and  summarily,  and  without  the  delay  of  a 
formal  trial  by  jury.  This  same  section  provides  that  fugi- 
tives from  justice  shall,  on  demand  of  the  executive  autho- 
rity of  a State,  “be  delivered  up,  to  be  removed,”  &c. 
With  regard  to  fugitives  from  service  or  labor,  the  provision 
is,  they  shall  not  “ be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor, 
but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom 
such  service  or  labor  may  be  due.”  In  neither  case  is  it 
said  by  whom  or  by  what  authority  they  shall  be  delivered 
up.  In  the  case  of  fugitives  from  justice,  the  delivery  up 
has  always  been  done  by  the  executive  of  one  State  upon 
the  demand  of  the  executive  of  another  State;  but  in  the 
case  of  fugitives  from  service,  such  has  not  been  the  prac- 
tice, though  the  words  are  almost  identical.  The  delivery 
up  is  to  be  done  by  somebody.  Clearly  it  is  not  the  duty 
of  each  individual  citizen  to  do  it.  It  must  devolve  on  the 
State  authority,  or  on  that  of  the  United  States,  and  it  is 


382 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847—50. 


understood  that  it  belongs  exclusively  to  the  latter.  But 
though  a State  cannot  perform  this  duty  devolved  by  the 
Constitution  somewhere,  she  has  no  right  to  interpose  im- 
proper and  embarrassing  obstacles  in  the  way  of  such  deli- 
very up  of  a fugitive  by  proper  authority.  If  she  does  so 
she  transcends  her  duty,  and  is  liable  to  the  charge  of  not 
standing  faithfully  by  the  compromises  of  the  Constitution. 

St:******# 

The  duty  to  deliver  up  is  clear,  and  can  only  be  evaded 
by  a breach  of  the  Constitution  or  by  its  alteration.  As 
long  as  it  remains  I am  willing  to  acknowledge  the  obliga- 
tion, and  to  vote  for  any  feasible  and  judicious  plan  by 
which  this  duty  can  be  performed,  and  the  constitutional 
obligation  be  maintained  and  discharged.  I am  for  the 
Constitution  as  it  stands,  as  long  as  it  stands,  and  for  the 
Union  as  our  fathers  made  it,  and  do  not  mean,  by  any  act 
of  mine,  either  of  commission  or  omission,  to  jeopard 
either.  My  feelings  of  attachment  to  the  Union  are  still 
strong,  but  I must  confess  to  some  diminution  of  their  in- 
tensity during  the  agitation  of  this  slavery  question.  I 
much  fear  that  if  it  were  the  object  of  gentlemen  to  produce 
a like  effect  upon  the  minds  of  the  people  generally,  they 
may  have  accomplished  their  purpose.  Still  I would  sacri- 
fice much  to  maintain  it,  if  sacrifice  were  necessary.  I do 
not,  however,  perceive  any  great  danger,  for  the  causes 
alleged  seem  inadequate.  Some,  however,  can  snuff  disso- 
lution in  every  gale,  and  find  evidences  of  its  approach  when 
others  cannot  discover  any  signs  of  danger.  The  distin- 
guished senator  from  South  Carolina,  now  dead,  could  see 
it  ii.  the  action  of  the  religious  bodies  of  the  country. 
True,  sir,  there  has  been  something  of  the  kind  in  one  of 
the  most  numerous  denominations  in  the  country.  Speak- 
ing of  the  snapping  of  their  religious  cords,  Mr.  Calhoun 
says,  “that  of  the  Presbyterian  is  not  entirely  snapped,  but 
gome  of  its  strands  have  given  away.”  The  correctness  of 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


388 


this  statement  with  regard  to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  I must 
be  permitted  to  question.  This  church  has  ever  been  dis- 
tinguished for  its  devotion  to  freedom  ; both  political  and 
religious,  and  it  will  be  one  of  the  last  to  do  anything  tend- 
ing towards  a subversion  of  the  institutions  of  the  country, 
to  the  formation  of  which  their  ancestors  of  the  same  faith 
so  largely  contributed.  I will  cite  the  report  and  resolu- 
tions of  the  General  Assembly,  adopted  at  Cincinnati,  in 
May,  1845,  in  support  of  the  views  I have  advanced  on 
the  moral  aspect  of  slavery,  and  as  evidence  of  the  attach- 
ment this  church,  north  and  south,  bears  to  the  Union  of 
the  States.  I can  only  refer  to  the  report : the  resolutions 
adopted  by  a vote  of  168  yeas  to  13  nays,  are  as  follows, 
viz.: 

“ Resolved,  1st,  That  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  the  United  States  was  originally  organ- 
ized, and  has  since  continued  the  bond  of  Union  in  the 
church,  upon  the  conceded  principle  that  the  existence  of 
domestic  slavery,  under  the  circumstances  in  which  it  is 
found  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  country,  is  no  bar  to 
Christian  communion. 

11  Resolved,  2d,  That  the  petitions  that  ask  the  Assembly 
to  make  the  holding  of  slaves  itself  a matter  of  discipline, 
do  virtually  require  this  judicatory  to  dissolve  itself,  and 
abandon  the  organization  under  which,  by  the  Divine  bles- 
ing,  it  has  so  long  prospered.  The  tendency  is  evidently  to 
separate  the  northern  from  the  southern  portion  of  the 
Church  ; a result  which  every  good  citizen  must  deplore,  as 
tending  to  the  dissolution  of  the  Union  of  our  beloved 
country,  and  which  every  enlightened  Christian  will  oppose 
as  bringing  about  a ruinous  and  unnecessary  schism  between 
brethren  who  maintain  a common  faith.” 

These  patriotic  and  Christian-like  sentiments  have  never 
been  changed  or  withdrawn  at  any  subsequent  period,  as  I 
am  informed  by  the  best  authority  ; and  I am  happy  to  add, 


884 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


there  is  no  fear  that  they  ever  will  be.  They  are  worthy  the 
church,  and  do  honor  to  the  heads  and  hearts  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Assembly  by  which  they  were  so  unanimously 
adopted.  There  are  no  elements  of  political  disunion  in 
this  church  ; no  snapping  of  any  strands,  however  delicate, 
forming  her  religious  cords,  to  draw  forth  from  the  patriot 
Christian 

“ Such  tears  as  patriots  shed  for  dying  laws.” 

In  the  preservation  of  the  Union  of  these  States  lie  all 
our  hopes  of  happiness  as  a people — of  our  peace,  prospe- 
rity, and  strength,  as  a nation.  What  patriotism  is  to  the 
citizens  of  other  countries,  unionism  should  be  to  us — the 
noblest  passion  that  animates  man  in  the  character  of  a citi- 
zen. Attachment  and  devotion  to  the  Constitution  and  to 
the  Union  is  a deeply-seated  feeling  in  the  heart  of  every 
American.  It  should  be  cherished  and  fostered  with  care, 
as  a vital  principle,  never  to  be  surrendered  until  every  sen- 
timent of  civil  liberty  shall  be  extinguished  forever. 

Extract  from  the  speech  of  Mr.  Thomas  Ross,  of  Penn- 
sylvania, in  the  House  of  Representatives,  April  10,  1850. 

Mr.  Ross  said  : Congress  has  no  constitutional  power 
either  to  establish  or  to  prohibit  slavery  in  the  States  or  ter- 
ritories. And  I will  further  say,  that  even  if  Congress  had 
the  constitutional  power,  it  would  be  unwise,  inexpedient, 
and  highly  improper  to  exercise  that  power. 

In  justice  to  myself,  I will,  in  a few  words,  give  my  rea- 
sons for  this  opinion.  Each  State  was  an  independent  sove- 
reignty when  she  entered  the  confederacy,  so  far,  at  least, 
as  regarded  the  objects  of  property,  and  the  domestic  and 
social  institutions  of  her  people  ; and  she  surrendered  no 
part  of  that  sovereignty  by  becoming  a member  of  the  Union. 
The  general  government  was  established  for  certain  specified 
objects,  and  its  powers  are  limited  by  the  constitutional 


THE  AGITATION'  IN  1847—50. 


385 


grant  which  created  it ; but  to  the  States  themselves  belong 
all  powers  not  expressly  delegated,  or  which,  by  necessary 
implication,  do  not  arise  from  some  express  grant.  At  the 
time  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  negro  slavery,  I 
believe,  existed  in  all  the  States  but  one,  which  then  formed 
the  Union  ; and  no  power  was  given  to  the  general  govern- 
ment to  control,  regulate,  prohibit,  or  establish  slavery. 
That  power  not  being  granted,  was  vested  in  the  States 
themselves.  The  Constitution,  however,  recognized  slavery 
as  one  of  the  institutions  of  the  country,  and  made  provision 
for  the  protection  of  slave  property.  There  was  no  grant, 
therefore,  of  power  of  any  kind  on  the  subject  of  slavery 
made  by  the  States  to  the  general  government ; but  there 
was  a binding  obligation  entered  into  by  the  free  States,  or 
by  such  as  might  become  free,  that  the  general  government 
should  protect  slave  property.  It  seems  to  me,  therefore, 
that  as  the  States  delegated  to  the  general  government  no 
power  of  any  kind  over  the  question  of  slavery,  Congress, 
which  derives  all  its  powers  from  the  Constitution,  possesses 
no  authority  either  to  establish  or  prohibit  slavery  in  the 
States  or  territories.  In  regard  to  the  territories,  Mr.  Chair- 
man, the  general  government  is  but  the  trustee  of  the  States  ; 
and  it  has  no  power  to  make  any  rule  or  regulation  which 
will  throw  open  the  territories  to  settlement  by  the  people 
of  one  section  of  the  Union  to  the  exclusion  of  the  people 
of  another.  The  beneficiary  interest  of  the  territories  is  in 
the  people  of  all  the  States — slave  States  as  well  as  free— 
and  the  general  government,  as  the  trustee,  is  bound  to  exe- 
cute the  trust  for  the  common  benefit  of  all.  Any  legisla- 
tion by  Congress,  prohibiting  slavery  in  the  territories, 
would,  therefore,  be  not  only  an  assumption  of  power  not 
delegated,  but  would  be  a violation  of  the  trust  which  the 
Constitution  vested  in  the  general  government. 

But,  sir,  I further  hold,  that  the  general  government  has 
no  power  to  prohibit,  by  any  legislative  act,  the  iutroduc- 
25 


S86 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847—50. 


tion  into  the  territories  of  any  species  of  property  which  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  has  recognized  as  prop- 
erty. Property  in  slaves  is  not  only  recognized  by  the  Con- 
stitution, but  guarantees  are  given  for  its  protection.  The 
power,  therefore,  which  is  given  to  Congress  by  the  third 
section  of  the  fourth  article,  to  make  “all  needful  rules  and 
regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  property  be- 
longing to  the  United  States,”  is  merely  a right  to  regulate, 
but  not  a power  to  abolish  that  which  the  Constitution  has 
recognized  as  property.  An  obligation  to  protect  or  regu- 
late gives  no  power  to  prohibit  or  to  destroy.  And  thus, 
while  we  have  the  constitutional  power  to  pass  laws  for  the 
protection  and  regulation  of  slave  property  in  the  territories, 
we  have  no  power  to  make  any  legislative  enactment  for  its 
prohibition,  whether  in  the  States  or  territories.  In  a word, 
sir,  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  the  Constitution 
of  the  territories,  and  as  that  Constitution  recognizes  the 
right  of  property  in  slaves,  any  prohibition  by  Congress  of 
that  right  would  be  in  violation  of  the  Constitution,  which 
is  the  supreme  law  of  the  land. 

Extract  from  the  Southern  Address  published  in  1830, 
said  to  have  been  drawn  by  Mr.  Calhoun  : 

We  do  not  deem  it  necessary,  looking  to  the  object  of 
this  address,  to  examine  the  question  so  fully  discussed  at 
the  last  session,  whether  Congress  has  the  right  to  exclude 
the  citizens  of  the  South  from  immigrating  with  their  pro- 
perty into  territories  belonging  to  the  confederated  States 
of  the  Union.  What  we  propose  in  this  connection  is,  to 
make  a few  remarks  on  what  the  North  alleges,  erroneously, 
to  be  the  issue  between  us  and  them. 

So  far  from  maintaining  the  doctrine,  which  the  issue 
implies,  we  hold  that  the  Federal  Government  has  no  right 
to  extend  or  restrict  slavery,  no  more  than  to  establish  or 
abolish  it  j nor  has  it  any  right  whatever  to  distinguish  be- 


THE  AGITATION  IN  1847 — 50. 


387 


tween  the  domestic  institutions  of  one  State,  or  section,  and 
another,  in  order  to  favor  the  one  and  discourage  the  other. 
As  the  federal  representatives  of  each  and  all  the  States,  it 
is  bound  to  deal  out,  within  the  sphere  of  its  powers,  equal 
and  exact  justice  and  favor  to  all.  To  act  otherwise,  to 
undertake  to  discriminate  between  the  domestic  institutions 
of  one  and  another,  would  be  to  act  in  total  subversion  of 
the  end  for  which  it  was  established — to  be  the  common 
protector  and  guardian  of  all.  Entertaining  these  opinions, 
we  ask  not,  as  the  North  alleges  we  do,  for  the  extension  of 
slavery.  That  would  make  a discrimination  in  our  favor, 
as  unjust  and  unconstitutional  as  the  discrimination  they 
ask  against  us  in  their  favor.  It  is  not  for  them  nor  for  the 
federal  government  to  determine  whether  our  domestic  insti- 
tution is  good  or  bad,  or  whether  it  should  be  repressed 
or  preserved.  It  belongs  to  us,  and  us  only,  to  deeide  such 
questions.  What,  then,  we  do  insist  on  is,  not  to  extend 
slavery,  but  that  we  shall  not  be  prohibited  from  immigra- 
ting with  our  property  into  the  territories  of  the  United 
States  because  we  are  slaveholders ; or,  in  other  words,  that 
we  shall  not  on  that  account  be  disfranchised  of  a privilege 
possessed  by  all  others,  citizens  and  foreigners,  without 
discrimination  as  to  character,  profession,  or  color.  All, 
whether  savage,  barbarian,  or  civilized,  may  freely  enter 
and  remain,  we  only  being  “excluded.” 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


THE  DRED  SCOTT  CASE. 

Extract  from  ‘.he  opinion  of  the  Court  by  Chief  Justice 
Taney ; also  from  the  opinion  of  Judge  Daniels;  and 
from  a Pennsylvania  case  declaring  a negro  not  a 
citizen. 

Taney,  C.  J.  *****  The  question  is  simply 
this:  Can  a negro,  whose  ancestors  were  imported  into  this 
country,  and  sold  as  slaves,  become  a member  of  the  politi- 
cal community  formed  and  brought  into  existence  by  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  as  such,  become 
entitled  to  all  the  rights,  and  privileges,  and  immunities, 
guaranteed  by  that  instrument  to  the  citizen  ? One  of 
which  rights  is  the  privilege  of  suing  in  a court  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  cases  specified  in  the  Constitution. 

It  will  be  observed,  that  the  plea  applies  to  that  class  of 
persons  only  whose  ancestors  were  negroes  of  the  African 
race,  and  imported  into  this  country,  and  sold  and  held  as 
slaves.  The  only  matter  in  issue  before  the  court,  therefore, 
is,  whether  the  descendants  of  such  slaves,  when  they  shall 
be  emancipated,  or  who  are  born  of  parents  who  had  be- 
come free  before  their  birth,  are  citizens  of  a State,  in  the 
sense  in  which  the  word  citizen  is  used  in  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.  And  this  being  the  only  matter  in 
dispute  on  the  pleadings,  the  court  must  be  understood  as 
speaking,  in  this  opinion,  of  that  class  only;  that  is,  of 


THE  DRED  SCOTT  CASE. 


389 


those  persons  who  are  the  descendants  of  Africans  who 
were  imported  into  this  country  and  sold  as  slaves. 

* * * * * * 

The  words  “ people  of  the  United  States”  and  “ citizens” 
are  synonymous  terms,  and  mean  the  same  thing.  They 
both  describe  the  political  body  who,  according  to  our 
republican  institutions,  form  the  sovereignty,  and  who  hold 
the  power  and  conduct  the  government  through  their  repre- 
sentatives. They  are  what  we  familiarly  call  the  “ sovereign 
people,”  and  every  citizen  is  one  of  this  people,  and  a con- 
stituent member  of  this  sovereignty.  The  question  before 
us  is,  Whether  the  class  of  persons  described  in  the  plea  in 
abatement  compose  a portion  of  this  people,  and  are  con- 
stituent members  of  this  sovereignty  ? We  think  they  are 
not,  and  that  they  are  not  included,  and  were  not  intended 
to  be  included,  under  the  word  “citizens”  in  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  can  therefore  claim  none  of  the  rights  and  privi- 
leges which  that  instrument  provides  for  and  secures  to 
citizens  of  the  United  States.  On  the  contrary,  they  were 
at  that  time  considered  as  a subordinate  and  inferior  class 
of  beings,  who  had  been  subjugated  by  the  dominant  race, 
and,  whether  emancipated  or  not,  yet  remain  subject  to 
their  authority,  and  had  no  rights  or  privileges  but  such  as 
those  who  held  the  power  and  the  government  might  choose 
to  grant  them. 

It  is  not  the  province  of  the  court  to  decide  upon  the 
justice  or  injustice,  the  policy  or  impolicy,  of  these  laws. 
The  decision  of  that  question  belonged  to  the  political,  or 
law-making  power;  to  those  who  formed  the  sovereignty 
and  framed  the  Constitution.  The  duty  of  the  court  is  to 
interpret  the  instrument  they  have  framed,  with  the  best 
lights  we  can  obtain  on  the  subject,  and  to  administer  it  as 
we  find  it,  according  to  its  true  intent  and  meaning  when  it 
was  adopted. 

****** 


390 


THE  DRED  SCOTT  CASE. 


In  the  opinion  of  the  court,  the  legislation  and  histories 
of  the  times,  and  the  language  used  in  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  show  that  neither  the  class  of  persons  who  had 
been  imported  as  slaves,  nor  their  descendants,  whether  they 
had  become  free  or  not,  were  then  acknowledged  as  a part 
of  the  people,  nor  intended  to  be  included  in  the  general 
words  used  in  that  memorable  instrument. 

It  is  difficult  at  this  day  to  realize  the  state  of  public 
opinion  in  relation  to  that  unfortunate  race,  which  prevailed 
in  the  civilized  and  enlightened  portions  of  the  world  at  the 
time  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  when  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  framed  and  adopted. 
But  the  public  history  of  every  European  nation  displays 
it  in  a manner  too  plain  to  be  mistaken. 

They  had  for  more  than  a century  before  been  regarded 
as  beings  of  an  inferior  order,  and  altogether  unfit  to  asso- 
ciate with  the  white  race,  either  in  social  or  political  rela- 
tions ; and  so  far  inferior,  that  they  had  no  rights  which 
the  white  man  was  bound  to  respect ; and  that  the  negro 
might  justly  and  lawfully  be  reduced  to  slavery  for  his 
benefit.  He  was  bought  and  sold,  and  treated  as  an  ordi- 
nary article  of  merchandise  and  traffic,  whenever  a profit 
could  be  made  by  it.  This  opinion  was  at  that  time  fixed 
and  universal  in  the  civilized  portion  of  the  white  race.  It 
was  regarded  as  an  axiom  in  morals  as  well  as  in  politics, 
which  no  one  thought  of  disputing,  or  supposed  to  be  open 
to  dispute ; and  men  in  every  grade  and  position  in  society 
daily  and  habitually  acted  upon  it  in  their  private  pursuits, 
as  well  as  in  matters  of  public  concern,  without  doubting 
for  a moment  the  correctness  of  this  opinion. 

And  in  no  nation  was  this  opinion  more  firmly  fixed  or 
more  uniformly  acted  upon  than  by  the  English  government 
and  English  people.  They  not  only  seized  them  on  the 
coast  of  Africa,  and  sold  them  or  held  them  in  slavery 
for  their  own  use ; but  they  took  them  as  ordinary  articles 


THE  DEED  SCOTT  CASE. 


391 


of  merchandise  to  every  country  where  they  could  make  a 
profit  on  them,  and  even  far  more  extensively  engaged  in 
this  commerce  than  any  other  nation  in  the  world. 

The  opinion  thus  entertained  and  acted  upon  in  England 
was  naturally  impressed  upon  the  colonies  they  founded  on 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  And  accordingly,  a negro  of  the 
African  race  was  regarded  by  them  as  an  article  of  property, 
and  held,  and  bought,  and  sold  as  such  in  every  one  of  the 
thirteen  colonies  which  united  in  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, and  afterwards  formed  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  The  slaves  were  more  or  less  numerous  in 
the  different  colonies,  as  slave  labor  was  found  more  or  less 
profitable.  But  no  one  seems  to  have  doubted  the  correct- 
ness of  the  prevailing  opinion  of  the  time.  The  legislation 
of  the  different  colonies  furnished  positive  and  indisputable 
proof  of  this  fact. 

It  would  be  tedious,  in  this  opinion,  to  enumerate  the  va- 
rious laws  they  passed  upon  this  subject.  It  will  be  suffi- 
cient, as  a sample  of  the  legislation  which  then  generally 
prevailed  throughout  the  British  colonies,  to  give  the  laws 
of  two  of  them,  one  being  still  a large 'slaveholding  State, 
and  the  other  the  first  State  in  which  slavery  ceased  to  exist. 

The  Province  of  Maryland,  in  1711,  (ch.  13,  s.  5,)  passed 
a law  declaring  “that  if  any  free  negro  or  mulatto  inter- 
marry with  any  white  woman,  or  any  white  man  shall  inter- 
marry with  any  negro  or  mulatto  woman,  such  negro  or  mu- 
latto shall  become  a slave  during  life,  excepting  mulattoes 
born  of  white  women,  who,  for  such  intermarriage,  shall 
only  become  servants  for  seven  years,  to  be  disposed  of  as 
the  justices  of  the  county  court,  where  such  marriage  so 
happens,  shall  think  fit,  to  be  applied  by  them  toward  the 
support  of  a public  school  within  the  said  county.  And 
any  white  man  or  white  woman,  who  shall  intermarry  as 
aforesaid,  with  any  negro  or  mulatto,  such  white  man  or 
white  woman  shall  become  a servant  for  or  during  the  term 


392 


THE  DRED  SCOTT  CASE. 


of  seven  years,  and  shall  be  disposed  of  by  the  justices  as 
aforesaid,  and  be  applied  to  the  uses  aforesaid.” 

The  other  colonial  law  to  which  we  refer,  was  passed  by 
Massachusetts,  in  1105,  (ch.  6.)  It  is  entitled  “An  Act  for 
the  better  preventing  of  a spurious  and  mixed  issue,”  &c., 
and  it  provides  “that  if  any  negro  or  mulatto  shall  presume 
to  strike  or  smite  any  person  of  the  English  or  other  Chris- 
tian nation,  such  negro  or  mulatto  shall  be  severely  whipped, 
at  the  discretion  of  the  justice  before  whom  the  offender 
shall  be  convicted.” 

And  “that  none  of  her  Majesty’s  English  or  Scottish  sub- 
jects, uor  of  any  other  Christian  nation  within  this  province, 
shall  contract  matrimony  with  any  negro  or  mulatto ; nor 
shall  any  person  duly  authorized  to  solemnize  marriage,  pre- 
sume to  join  any  such  in  marriage,  on  pain  of  forfeiting  the 
sum  of  fifty  pounds,  one  moiety  thereof  to  her  Majesty,  for 
and  toward  the  support  of  the  government  within  this  pro- 
vince, and  the  other  moiety  to  him  or  them  who  shall  inform 
and  sue  for  the  same,  in  any  of  her  Majesty’s  courts  of  record 
within  the  province,  by  bill,  plaint,  or  information.” 
****** 

The  language  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  is 
equally  conclusive.  It  begins  by  declaring,  that  “ When, 
in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  necessary  for  one 
people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have  connected 
them  with  another,  and  to  assume  among  the  powers  of  the 
earth  the  separate  and  equal  station  to  which  the  laws  of 
nature,  and  nature’s  God,  entitled  them,  a decent  respect 
for  the  opinions  of  mankind  require  that  they  should  de- 
clare the  causes  which  impel  them  to  the  separation.” 

It  then  proceeds  to  say  : “ We  hold  these  truths  to  be 
self-evident — That  all  men  are  created  equal ; that  they 
are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights; 
that  among  them  is  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happi- 
ness ; that,  to  secure  these  rights,  governments  are  insti- 


THE  DEED  SCOTT  CASE. 


393 


tuted,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the 
governed.” 

The  general  words,  above  quoted,  would  seem  to  embrace 
the  whole  human  family  ; and  if  they  were  used  in  a simi- 
lar instrument  at  this  day,  would  be  so  understood.  But  it 
is  too  clear  for  dispute,  that  the  enslaved  African  race  were 
not  intended  to  be  included,  and  formed  no  part  of  the 
people  who  framed  and  adopted  this  Declaration  ; for  if  the 
language,  as  understood  in  that  day,  would  embrace  them, 
the  conduct  of  the  distinguished  men  who  framed  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  would  have  been  utterly  and 
flagrantly  inconsistent  with  principles  they  asserted  ; and 
instead  of  the  sympathy  of  mankind  to  which  they  so  con- 
fidently appealed,  they  would  have  deserved  and  received 
universal  rebuke  and  reprobation. 

Yet,  the  men  who  framed  this  Declaration  were  great 
men — high  in  literary  acquirements — high  in  their  sense  of 
honor,  and  incapable  of  asserting  principles  inconsistent 
with  those  on  which  they  were  acting.  They  perfectly  un- 
derstood the  meaning  of  the  language  they  used,  and  how 
it  would  be  understood  by  others  ; and  they  knew  that  it 
would  not,  in  any  part  of  the  civilized  world,  be  supposed 
to  embrace  the  negro  race,  which,  by  common  consent,  had 
been  excluded  from  civilized  government  and  the  family  of 
nations,  and  doomed  to  slavery.  They  spoke  and  acted 
according  to  the  then  established  doctrine  and  principles, 
and  in  the  ordinary  language  of  the  day,  and  no  one  mis- 
understood them.  The  unhappy  black  race  were  separated 
from  the  white  by  indelible  marks,  and  laws  long  before 
established,  and  were  never  thought  or  spoken  of  except  as 
property,  and  when  the  claims  of  the  owners,  or  the  profit 
of  the  trader,  were  supposed  to  need  protection. 

This  state  of  public  opinion  had  received  or  undergone 
no  change  when  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  as  is  equally 
evident  from  its  provisions  and  language. 
****** 


394 


THE  1)RED  SCOTT  CASE. 


And  if  we  turn  to  the  legislation  of  the  States  where 
slavery  had  worn  out,  or  measures  taken  for  its  speedy  abo- 
lition, we  shall  find  the  same  opinions  and  principles,  equally 
fixed  and  equally  acted  upon. 

Thus,  Massachusetts,  in  1786,  passed  a law  similar  to  the 
Colonial  one,  of  which  we  have  spoken.  The  law  of  1786, 
like  the  law  of  1705,  forbids  the  marriage  of  any  white 
person  to  any  negro,  Indian,  or  mulatto,  and  inflicts  a pen- 
alty of  fifty  pounds  upon  any  one  who  shall  join  them  in 
marriage;  and  declares  all  such  marriages  absolutely  null 
and  void,  and  degrades  thus  the  unhappy  issue  of  the  mar- 
riage, by  fixing  upon  it  the  stain  of  bastardy.  And  this 
mark  of  degradation  was  renewed,  and  again  impressed 
upon  the  race,  in  the  careful  and  deliberate  preparation  of 
their  revised  code,  published  in  1836.  This  code  forbids 
any  person  from  joining  in  marriage  any  white  person  with 
any  Indian,  negro,  or  mulatto,  and  subjects  the  party  who 
shall  offend  in  this  respect,  to  imprisonment,  not  exceeding 
six  months,  in  the  common  jail,  or  to  hard  labor,  and  to  a 
fine  not  less  than  fifty  or  more  than  two  thousand  dollars  ; 
and,  like  the  law  of  1786,  it  declares  the  marriages  abso- 
lutely null  and  void.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  punishment 
is  increased  by  the  code  upon  the  person  who  shall  marry 
them,  by  adding  imprisonment  to  a pecuniary  penalty. 

So,  too,  in  Connecticut.  We  refer  more  particularly  to 
the  legislation  of  this  State,  because  it  was  not  only  among 
the  first  to  put  an  end  to  slavery  within  its  own  territory, 
but  was  the  first  to  fix  a mark  of  reprobation  upon  the  Afri- 
can slave  trade.  The  law  last  mentioned  was  passed  in 
October  1788,  about  nine  months  after  the  State  had  ratified 
and  adopted  the  present  Constitution  of  the  United  States ; 
and  by  that  law  it  prohibited  its  own  citizens,  under  severe 
penalties,  from  engaging  in  the  trade,  and  declared  all 
policies  of  insurance  on  the  vessel  or  cargo  made  in  the 
State  to  be  null  and  void.  But,  up  to  time  of  the  adoption 


THE  DRED  SCOTT  CASE. 


395 


of  the  Constitution,  there  is  nothing  in  the  legislation  of  the 
State  indicating  any  change  of  opinion  as  to  the  relative 
rights  and  positions  of  the  white  and  black  races  in  this 
country,  or  indicating  that  it  meant  to  place  the  latter,  when 
free,  upon  a level  with  its  citizens.  And  certainly  nothing 
which  would  have  led  the  slaveholding  States  to  suppose 
that  Connecticut  designed  to  claim  for  them,  under  the  new 
Constitution,  the  equal  rights  and  privileges,  and  rank  of 
citizens,  in  every  other  State. 

The  first  step  taken  by  Connecticut  upon  this  subject  was 
as  early  as  1174,  when  it  passed  an  act  forbidding  the 
further  importation  of  slaves  into  the  State.  But  the  sec- 
tion containing  the  prohibition  is  introduced  by  the  follow- 
ing preamble : 

“ And  whereas  the  increase  of  slaves  into  this  State  is  inju- 
rious to  the  poor,  and  inconvenient.” 

This  recital  would  appear  to  have  been  carefully  intro- 
duced, in  order  to  prevent  any  misunderstanding  of  the 
motive  which  induced  the  legislature  to  pass  the  law,  and 
place  it  distinctly  upon  the  interest  and  convenience  of  the 
white  population — excluding  the  inference  that  it  might 
have  been  intended,  in  any  degree,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
other. 

And  in  the  act  of  1184,  by  which  the  issue  of  slaves,  born 
after  the  time  therein  mentioned,  were  to  be  free  at  a certain 
age,  the  section  is  again  introduced  by  a preamble  assigning 
a similar  motive  for  the  act.  It  is  in  these  words  : 

“ Whereas,  sound  policy  requires  that  the  abolition  of 
slavery  should  be  effected  as  soon  as  may  be  consistent  with 
the  rights  of  individuals  and  the  public  safety  and  welfare,” 
— showing  that  the  right  of  property  in  the  master  was  to 
be  protected,  and  that  the  measure  was  one  of  policy,  and 
to  prevent  the  injury  and  inconvenience  to  the  whites,  of  a 
a slave  population  in  the  State. 

And  still  further  pursuing  its  legislation,  we  find  that  in 


396 


THK  DEED  SCOTT  CASE. 


the  same  statute  passed  in  IT  14,  which  prohibited  the  fur- 
ther importation  of  slaves  into  the  State,  there  is  also  a pro- 
vision by  which  any  negro,  Indian,  or  mulatto  servant,  who 
was  found  wandering  out  of  the  town  or  place  to  which  he 
belonged,  without  a written  pass  such  as  therein  described, 
was  made  liable  to  be  seized  by  any  one,  and  taken  before 
the  next  authority,  to  be  examined  and  delivered  up  to  his 
master,  who  was  required  to  pay  the  charge  which  had  ac- 
crued thereby.  And  a subsequent  section  of  the  same  law 
provided,  that  if  any  free  negro  shall  travel  without  such 
pass,  and  shall  be  stopped,  seized,  or  taken  up,  he  shall  pay 
all  charges  arising  thereby.  And  this  law  was  in  full  opera- 
tion when  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  adopted, 
and  was  not  repealed  till  1T9T.  So  that  up  to  that  time 
free  negroes  and  mulattoes  were  associated  with  servants 
and  slaves  in  the  police  regulations  established  by  the  laws 
of  the  State. 

And  again,  in  1S33,  Connecticut  passed  another  law 
which  made  it  penal  to  set  up  or  establish  any  school  in 
that  State  for  the  instruction  of  persons  of  the  African 
race,  not  inhabitants  of  the  State,  or  to  instruct  or  teach  in 
any  such  school  or  institution,  or  board  or  harbor  for  that 
purpose,  any  such  person,  without  the  previous  consent  in 
writing  of  the  civil  authority  of  the  town  in  which  such 
school  or  institution  might  be. 

And  it  appears  by  the  case  of  Crandell  v.  the  State, 
reported  in  10  Conn.  Rep.,  340,  that  upon  an  information 
filed  against  Prudence  Crandell  for  a violation  of  this  law, 
one  of  the  points  raised  in  the  defense  was,  that  the  law  was 
a violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States;  and 
that  the  persons  instructed,  although  of  the  African  race, 
were  citizens  of  other  States,  and  therefore  entitled  to  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  citizens  in  the  State  of  Connecticut. 
But  Chief  Justice  Dagget,  before  whom  the  case  was  tried, 
held,  that  persons  of  that  description  were  not  citizens  of  a 


THE  DRED  SCOTT  CASE. 


897 


State  within  the  meaning  of  the  word  citizen  in  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  and  were  not  therefore  entitled 
to  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in  other  States. 

"We  extract  the  following  from  the  opinion  of  Judge 
Daniels  in  the  same  case  : 

The  power  of  Congress  to  impose  the  prohibition  in  the 
eighth  section  of  the  act  of  1820,  has  been  advocated  upon 
an  attempted  construction  of  the  second  clause  of  the  third 
section  of  the  fourth  article  of  the  Constitution,  which  de- 
clares that  “Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  to 
make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  terri- 
tory and  other  property  belonging  to  the  United  States,” 

In  the  discussion  in  both  houses  of  Congress,  at  the  time 
of  adopting  the  eighth  section  of  the  act  of  1820,  great 
weight  was  given  to  the  peculiar  language  of  this  clause, 
viz.,  territory  and  other  property  belonging  to  the  United 
States,  as  going  to  show  that  power  of  disposing  of  and 
regulating,  thereby  vested  in  Congress,  was  restricted  to  a 
proprietary  interest  in  the  territory  of  land  comprised 
therein,  and  did  not  extend  to  the  personal  or  political 
rights  of  citizens  or  settlers,  inasmuch  as  this  phrase  in  the 
Constitution,  “territory  or  other  property ,”  identified  ter- 
ritory with  property,  and  inasmuch  as  citizens  or  persons 
could  not  be  property,  and  especially  were  not  property  be- 
longing to  the  United  States.  And  upon  every  principle 
of  reason  or  necessity,  this  power  to  dispose  of  and  to  regu- 
late the  territory  of  the  nation  could  be  designed  to  extend 
no  further  to  its  preservation  and  appropriation  to  the  uses 
of  those  to  whom  it  belonged,  viz.,  the  nation.  Scarcely 
anything  more  illogical  or  extravagant  can  be  imagined 
than  the  attempt  to  deduce  from  this  provision  in  the  Con- 
stitution a power  to  destroy  or  in  any  wise  to  impair  the 
civil  and  political  rights  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
and  much  more  so  the  power  to  establish  inequalities 


398 


THE  DRED  SCOTT  CASE. 


amongst  those  citizens  by  creating  privileges  in  one  class 
of  those  cit  .ens,  and  by  the  disfranchisement  of  other  por- 
tions or  classes  by  degrading  them  from  the  position  they 
previously  occupied. 

There  can  exist  no  rational  or  natural  connection  or  affi- 
nity between  a pretension  like  this  and  the  power  vested  by 
the  Constitution  in  Congress  with  regard  to  the  territories ; 
on  the  contrary,  there  is  an  absolute  incongruity  between 
them. 

But  whatever  the  power  vested  by  Congress,  and  what- 
ever the  precise  subject  to  which  that  power  extended,  it  is 
clear  that  the  power  related  to  a subject  appertaining  to  the 
United  States,  and  one  to  be  disposed  of  and  regulated  for 
the  benefit  and  under  the  authority  of  the  United  Stales. 
Congress  was  made  simply  the  agent  or  trustee  for  the 
United  States,  upon  equal  grounds,  legal  or  equitable. 
Congress  could  not  appropriate  that  subject  to  any  one 
class  or  portion  of  the  people  to  the  exclusion  of  others 
politically  and  constitutionally  equals ; but  every  citizen 
would,  if  any  one  could  claim  it,  have  the  like  rights  of  pur- 
chase, settlement,  occupation,  or  any  other  right  in  their 
national  territory. 

Nothing  can  be  more  conclusive  to  show  the  equality  of 
this  with  every  other  right  in  all  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  iniquity  and  absurdity  of  the  pretensions  to 
exclude  or  to  disfranchise  a portion  of  them  because  they 
are  the  owners  of  slaves,  than  the  fact  that  the  same  instru- 
ment, which  imparts  to  Congress  its  very  existence,  and  its 
very  functions,  guarantees  to  the  slaveholder  the  title  to  his 
property,  and  gives  him  the  right  to  reclaim  his  property 
throughout  the  country ; and,  further,  that  the  only  private 
property  which  the  Constitution  has  specifically  recognized, 
and  has  imposed  it  as  a direct  obligation  both  on  the  States 
and  the  federal  government  to  protect  and  enforce,  is  the 
property  of  the  master  in  his  slave : no  other  right  of 


THE  DRED  SCOTT  CASE. 


399 


property  is  placed  by  the  Constitution  on  the  same  high 
ground,  nor  shielded  by  a similar  guarantee. 

Can  there  be  imputed  to  the  sages  and  patriots  by  whom 
the  Constitution  was  framed,  or  can  there  be  detected  in  the 
text  of  that  Constitution,  or  in  any  rational  construction  or 
implication  deducible  therefrom,  a contradiction  so  palpable 
as  would  exist  between  a pledge  to  the  slaveholder  of  an 
equality  with  his  fellow-citizens,  and  of  the  formal  and 
solemn  assurance  for  the  security  and  enjoyment  of  his 
property,  and  a warrant  given  as  it  were  uno  flatu  to 
another,  to  rob  him  of  that  property,  or  to  subject  him  to 
proscription  and  disfranchisement  for  possessing,  or  for 
endeavoring  to  retain  it?  The  injustice  and  extravagance 
necessarily  implied  in  a supposition  like  this,  cannot  be 
rationally  imputed  to  the  patriotic  or  the  honest,  or  to  those 
who  were  merely  sane. 

A conclusion  in  favor  of  the  prohibitory  power  in  Con 
gress,  as  asserted  in  the  eighth  section  of  the  act  of  1820, 
has  been  attempted,  as  deducible  from  the  precedent  of  the 
ordinance  of  the  Convention  of  1781,  concerning  the  cession 
by  Virginia  of  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  : the 
provision  in  which  ordinance  relative  to  slavery,  it  has  been 
attempted  to  impose  upon  other  and  subsequently  acquired 
territory. 

The  first  circumstance  which,  in  the  consideration  of  thii 
provision,  impresses  itself  upon  my  mind,  is  its  utter  futility 
and  want  of  authority.  This  court  has,  in  repeated  instances, 
ruled,  that  whatever  may  have  been  the  force  accorded  to 
this  ordinance  of  1787  at  the  period  of  its  enactment,  its 
authority  and  effect  ceased,  and  yielded  to  the  paramount 
authority  of  the  Constitution,  from  the  period  of  the  adop- 
tion of  the  latter.  Such  is  the  principle  ruled  in  the  cases 
of  Pollard’s  Lessee  v.  Hagan,  (3  How,  212)  ; Parmoli  v. 
The  First  Municipality  of  Hew  Orleans,  (3  How,  589;) 
Strader  v.  Graham,  (16  How,  82).  But  apart  from  the 


400 


THE  DEED  SCOTT  CASE 


superior  control  of  the  Constitution,  and  anterior  to  the 
adoption  of  that  instrument,  it  is  obvious  that  the  inhibition 
in  question  never  had  and  never  could  have  any  legitimate 
and  binding  force. 

We  may  seek  in  vain  for  any  power  in  the  Convention, 
either  to  require  or  to  accept  a condition  or  restriction 
upon  the  cession  like  that  insisted  on — a condition  incon- 
sistent with,  and  destructive  of,  the  object  of  the  grant. 
The  cession  was,  as  recommended  by  the  old  Congress  in 
1780,  made  originally  and  completed  in  terms  to  the  United 
States,  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States:  i.  e.,  for 
the  people,  all  the  people,  of  the  United  States:  the  con- 
dition subsequently  sought  to  be  annexed  in  1787,  (declared, 
too,  to  be  perpetual  and  immutable,)  being  contradictory 
to  the  terms  and  destructive  of  the  purposes  of  the  cession, 
and  after  the  cession  was  consummated,  and  the  powers  of 
the  ceding  party  terminated,  and  the  rights  of  the  grantees, 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  vested,  must  necessarily, 
so  far,  have  been  ah  initio  void. 

With  respect  to  the  powers  of  the  Convention  to  impose 
this  inhibition,  it  seems  to  be  pertinent  in  this  place  to 
recur  to  the  opinion  of  one  cotemporary  with  the  establish- 
ment of  the  government,  and  whose  distinguished  services 
in  the  formation  and  adoption  of  our  national  charter,  point 
him  out  as  the  artifex  maximus  of  our  federal  system. 
James  Madison,  in  the  year  1819,  speaking  with  reference 
to  the  prohibitory  law  claimed  by  Congress,  then  threaten- 
ing the  very  existence  of  the  Union,  remarks  of  the  language 
of  the  second  clause  of  the  third  section  of  article  fourth 
of  the  Constitution,  “that  it  cannot  be  well  extended  be- 
yond a power  over  the  territory  as  properly,  and  the  power 
to  make  provisions  really  needful  or  necessary  for  the 
government  of  settlers,  until  ripe  for  admission  into  the 
Union.” 

Again  he  says,  “ with  respect  to  what  has  taken  place  in 


THE  DRED  SCOTT  CASE. 


401 


the  Northwestern  Territory,  it  may  be  observed,  that  the 
ordinance  giving  it  its  distinctive  character  on  the  subject 
of  slaveholding  proceeded  from  the  old  Congress,  acting 
with  the  best  intentions,  but  under  a charter  which  con- 
tains no  shadow  of  the  authority  exercised ; and  it  remains 
to  be  decided  how  far  the  States  formed  in  that  territory, 
and  admitted  into  the  Union,  are  on  a different  footing  from 
its  other  members  as  to  their  legislative  sovereignty.  As 
to  the  power  of  admitting  new  States  into  the  federal  com- 
pact, the  questions  offering  themselves  are,  whether  Con- 
gress can  attach  conditions,  or  the  new  States  concur  in 
conditions,  which  after  admission  would  abridge  or  enlarge 
the  constitutional  rights  of  legislation  common  to  other 
States : whether  Congress  can,  by  a compact  with  a new 
State,  take  power  to  or  from  itself,  or  place  the  new  mem- 
ber above  or  below  the  equal  rank  and  rights  preserved 
by  the  others ; whether  all  such  stipulations,  expressed  or 
implied,  would  not  be  nullities,  and  be  so  pronounced  when 
brought  to  a practical  test.  It  falls  within  the  scope  of 
our  inquiry  to  state  the  fact,  that  there  was  a proposition 

in  the  Convention  to  discriminate  between  the  old  and  the 

\ 

new  States  by  an  article  in  the  Constitution.  The  propo- 
sition, happily,  was  rejected.  The  effect  of  such  a dis- 
crimination is  sufficiently  evident.” 

In  support  of  the  ordinance  of  1787,  there  may  be  ad- 
luced  the  semblance,  at  least,  of  obligation  deducible  from 
compact,  the  form  of  assent  or  agreement  between  the 
grantor  and  grantee  ; but  this  form,  or  similitude,  as  is 
justly  remarked  by  Mr.  Madison,  is  rendered  null  by  the 
absence  of  power  or  authority  in  the  contracting  parties, 
and  by  the  more  intrinsic  and  essential  defect  of  incompati- 
bility with  the  rights  and  avowed  purposes  of  those  parties, 
and  with  their  relative  duties  and  obligations  to  others.  If, 
then,  with  the  attendant  formalities  of  assent,  or  compact, 
the  restrictive  power  claimed  was  void  as  to  the  immediate 
26 


402 


THE  DEED  SCOTT  CASE. 


subject  of  the  ordinance,  how  much  more  unfounded  must 
be  the  pretensions  of  such  a power  as  derived  from  that 
source,  (viz.,  the  ordinance  of  1787,)  with  respect  to  ter- 
ritory acquired  by  purchase  or  conquest  under  the  supreme 
authority  of  the  Constitution — territory  not  the  subject  of 
mere  donation,  but  obtained  in  the  name  of  all,  by  the 
combined  efforts  and  resources  of  all,  and  with  uo  con- 
dition annexed  or  pretended. 

Synopsis  of  the  case  of  Robbs  and  others,  against  Fogg, 
in  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1887,  (6  Watts, 
553.) 

The  plaintiff  below,  Fogg,  was  a colored  man,  or  mu- 
latto, and  offered  his  vote  at  a general  election  in  the  town- 
ship of  Greenfield,  Luzerne  county,  which  was  refused  by 
the  Board  of  Election.  He  then  brought  his  action  to 
recover  damages  against  the  Board,  and  “ to  maintain  his 
rights  as  a citizen  and  freeman  of  the  State.”  The  case 
arose  under  the  old  Constitution,  which  declared  that 
“ every  freeman,  of  the  full  age  of  twenty-one  years,”  &c., 
“shall  enjoy  the  rights  of  an  elector.”  The  present  Con- 
stitution prefixes  the  word  white  to  the  word  freeman. 

The  facts  of  the  case  were  admitted,  and  the  court  below 
directed  judgment  for  the  plaintiff. 

In  the  Supreme  Court,  the  case  was  argued  by  Hon. 
John  N.  Conyngham  and  Hon.  H.  B.  Wright,  for  plaintiffs 

in  error  ; and  by  Hon.  Luther  Kidder  and Greenough, 

for  defendant  in  error.  The  opinion  of  the  Court  was  de- 
livered by  Chief  Justice  Gibson,  from  which  we  make  the 
following  extract.  It  will  be  seen  that  it  takes  the  same 
ground,  as  to  the  citizenship  of  the  negro,  as  does  the  Dred 
Scott  case. 

Gibson  C.  J.  * * * * But  in  addition  to  inter- 

pretation from  usage,  this  antecedent  legislation  furnishes 
other  proofs  that  no  colored  race  was  party  to  our  social 


THE  DRED  SCOTT  CASE. 


403 


compact.  As  was  justly  remarked  by  President  Pox,  in  the 
matter  of  the  late  contested  election,  our  ancestors  settled 
the  province  as  a community  of  white  men,  whence  an  un- 
conquerable prejudice  of  caste,  which  has  come  down  to  our 
day,  insomuch  that  a suspicion  of  tint  still  has  the  unjust 
effect  of  sinking  the  subject  of  it  below  the  common  level. 
Consistently  with  this  prejudice,  is  it  to  be  credited  that 
parity  of  rank  would  be  allowed  to  such  a race  ? Let  the 
question  be  answered  by  the  statute  of  1126,  which  denomi- 
nated it  an  idle  and  a slothful  people  ; which  directed  the  ma- 
gistrates to  bind  out  free  negroes  for  laziness  or  vagrancy  ; 
which  forbade  them  to  harbor  Indian  or  mulatto  slaves,  on 
pain  of  stripes;  which  annexed  to  the  interdict  with  a mar- 
riage with  white,  the  penalty  of  reduction  to  slavery;  which 
punished  them  for  tippling,  with  stripes ; and  even  a white 
person  with  servitude  for  intermarriage  with  a negro.  If 
freemen,  in  a political  sense,  were  subjects  of  those  cruel  and 
degrading  oppressions,  what  must  have  been  the  lot  of  their 
brethren  in  bondage  ? It  is  also  true,  that  degrading  posi- 
tions were  sometimes  assigned  to  white  men,  but  never  as 
members  of  a caste.  Insolvent  debtors,  to  indicate  the  worst 
of  them,  were  compelled  to  make  satisfaction  by  servitude  ; 
but  that  was  borrowed  from  a kindred  and  still  less  rational 
principle  of  the  common  law.  This  act  of  1126,  however, 
remained  in  force  until  it  was  repealed  by  the  emancipating 
act  of  1780  ; and  it  is  irrational  to  believe  that  the  progress 
of  liberal  sentiments  was  so  rapid  in  the  next  ten  years,  as 
to  produce  a determination  in  the  Convention  of  1790,  to 
raise  this  depressed  race  to  the  level  of  the  white  one.  If 
such  were  its  purpose,  it  is  strange  that  the  word  chosen  to 
effect  it  should  have  been  the  very  one  chosen  by  the  Con- 
vention of  1776,  to  designate  a white  elector.  “Every 
freeman ,”  it  is  said,  chap,  ii,  sec.  6,  “of  the  full  age  of 
twenty-one  years  before  the  day  of  election,  and  having  paid 
taxes  during  that  time,  shall  enjoy  the  rights  of  an  elector.” 


404 


THE  DRED  SCOTT  CASE. 


Now  if  the  word  freeman  was  not  potent  enough  to  ad- 
mit a free  negro  to  suffrage  under  the.  first  Constitution,  it 
is  difficult  to  discern  a degree  of  magic  in  the  intervening 
plan  of  emancipation,  sufficient  to  give  it  adequate  potency 
in  the  apprehension  of  the  Convention  under  the  second. 

The  only  thing  in  the  history  of  the  Convention  which 
casts  a doubt  upon  the  intent,  is  the  fact,  that  the  word 
white  was  prefixed  to  the  word  freeman  in  the  report  of  the 
committee,  and  subsequently  struck  out ; probably  because 
it  was  thought  superfluous,  or  still  more  probably,  because 
it  was  feared  respectable  men  of  dark  complexion  would  be 
often  insulted  at  the  polls,  by  objections  to  their  color.  I 
have  heard  it  said,  that  Mr.  Gallatin  sustained  his  motion 
to  strike  out  on  the  latter  ground.  Whatever  the  motion, 
the  disseverance  is  insufficient  to  warp  the  interpretation  of 
a word  on  such  settled  and  determinate  meaning  as  the  one 
which  remained.  A legislative  body  speaks  to  the  judi- 
ciary only  through  its  final  act,  and  expresses  its  will  only 
in  the  words  of  it ; and  though  their  meaning  may  be  influ- 
enced by  the  sense  in  which  they  have  usually  been  applied 
to  intrinsic  matters,  we  cannot  receive  an  explanation  of 
them  from  what  has  been  moved  or  said  in  debate.  Were 
he  even  disposed  to  pry  into  the  motives  of  the  members,  it 
would  be  impossible  for  him  to  ascertain  them ; and  in  at- 
tempting to  discover  the  ground  on  which  the  conclusion 
was  attained,  it  is  not  probable  that  a member  of  the  ma- 
jority could  indicate  anything  that  was  common  to  all. 
Previous  propositions  are  merged  in  the  act  of  consumma- 
tion, and  the  interpreter  of  it  must  look  to  that  alone. 

I have  thought  it  fair  to  treat  the  question  as  it  stands, 
affected  by  our  own  municipal  regulations,  without  illustra- 
tion from  those  of  other  States,  where  the  condition  of  the 
race  has  been  still  less  favored.  Yet  it  is  proper  to  say  that 
the  second  section  of  the  fourth  article  of  the  federal  Con- 
stitution presents  an  obstacle  to  the  political  freedom  of  the 


THE  EKED  SCOTT  CASE. 


405 


negro,  which  seems  to  be  insuperable.  It  is  to  be  remem- 
bered that  citizenship  as  well  as  freedom  is  a constitutional 
qualification  ; and  how  it  could  be  conferred  so  as  to  over- 
bear the  laws  imposing  countless  disabilities  on  him  in  other 
States,  is  a problem  of  difficult  solution.  In  this  aspect  the 
question  becomes  one  not  of  intention,  but  of  power;  and 
of  power  so  doubtful  as  to  forbid  the  exercise  of  it.  Every 
man  must  lament  the  necessity  of  these  disabilities ; but 
slavery  is  to  be  dealt  with  by  those  whose  existence  depends 
on  the  skill  with  which  it  is  treated.  Considerations  of 
mere  humanity,  however,  belong  to  a class  with  which,  as 
judges,  we  have  nothing  to  do  ; and,  interpreting  the  Con- 
stitution in  the  spirit  of  our  institutions,  we  are  bound  ta 
pronounce  that  men  of  color  are  destitute  of  title  to  the  elec- 
tive franchise.  Their  blood,  however,  may  become  so  di- 
luted in  successive  descents  as  to  lose  its  distinctive  charac- 
ter, and  then  both  policy  and  justice  require  that  previous 
disabilities  should  cease.  By  the  amended  Constitution  of 
North  Carolina,  no  free  negro,  mulatto,  or  free  person  of 
mixed  blood,  descended  from  negro  ancestors,,  to  the  fourth 
generation  inclusive,  though  one  ancestor  of  each  generation 
may  have  been  a white  person,  shall  vote  for  members  of  the 
legislature. 

I regret  to  say,  no  similar  regulation  for  practical  pur- 
poses has  been  attempted  here,  in  consequence  of  which 
every  case  of  disputed  color  must  be  determined  by  no  par- 
ticular rule,  but  by  the  discretion  of  the  judges,  and  thus  » 
great  constitutional  right,  even  under  the  proposed  amend- 
ments of  the  Constitution,  will  be  left  a sport  of  caprice. 
In  conclusion,  we  are  of  opinion  the  court  erred  in  direct- 
ing that  the  plaintiff  could  have  his  action  against  the  de- 
fendant for  the  rejection  of  his  vote. 

Judg  ment  reversed. 

Extract  from  the  opinion  of  Judge  Story. 


406 


THE  DP. ED  SCOTT  CASE. 


The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  the  case  of 
Prigg  vs.  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  16th  Peters’ 
Rep.,  wherein  Judge  Story,  in  delivering  the  opinion  of 
the  court,  says  : 

“ It  is  historically  well  known  that  the  clause  in  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  relating  to  persons  owing 
service  and  labor  in  one  State  escaping  into  other  States, 
was  to  secure  to  the  citizens  of  the  slaveholding  States  the 
complete  right  and  title  of  ownership  in  their  slaves,  as 
property,  in  every  State  in  the  Union  into  which  they  might 
escape  from  the  State  where  they  were  held  in  servitude. 
The  full  recognition  of  this  right  and  title  was  indispensable 
to  the  security  of  this  species  of  property  in  all  the  slave- 
holding States  ; and,  indeed,  was  so  vital  to  the  preservation 
of  their  domestic  interests  and  institutions,  that  it  cannot  be 
doubted  that  it  is  constituted  a fundamental  article,  without 
die  adoption  of  which  the  Union  could  not  have  been 
formed.  Its  true  design  was  to  guard  against  the  doctrines 
and  principles  prevailing  in  the  non-slaveholding  States,  by 
preventing  them  from  intermeddling  with,  or  obstructing,  or 
abolishing  the  rights  of  the  owners  of  slaves. 

* * * * * * 

“ The  clause  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
relating  to  fugitives  from  labor,  manifestly  contemplates  the 
existence  of  a positive,  unqualified  right  on  the  part  of  the 
owner  of  the  slave,  which  no  State  law  or  regulation  can  in 
any  way  qualify,  regulate,  control,  or  restrain. 

* * * * * * * 

“ The  owner  of  a fugitive  slave  has  the  same  right  to 
seize,  and  to  take  him  in  a State  to  which  he  has  escaped 
or  fled  that  he  had  in  the  State  from  which  he  escaped  ; and 
it  is  well  known  that  this  right  to  seize  or  recapture  is 
universally  acknowledged  in  all  the  slaveholding  States. 
The  court  have  not  the  slightest  hesitation  in  holding,  that 
under  and  in  virtue  of  the  Constitution,  the  owner  of  the 


THE  HEED  SCOTT  CASE. 


407 


slave  is  clothed  with  authority  in  every  State  of  the  Union 
to  seize  and  recapture  his  slave,  wherever  he  can  do  it  with- 
out any  breach  of  the  peace,  or  illegal  violence. 
******** 

“ The  right  to  seize  and  retake  fugitive  slaves,  and  the 
duty  to  deliver  them  up,  in  whatever  State  of  the  Union 
they  may  be  found,  is,  under  the  Constitution,  recognized 
as  an  absolute  positive  right  and  duty,  pervading  the  whole 
Union  with  an  equal  and  supreme  force;  uncontrolled  and 
uncontrollable  by  State  sovereignty  or  State  legislation. 
The  right  and  duty  are  co-extensive  and  uniform  in  remedy 
and  operation  throughout  the  whole  Union.  The  owner 
has  the  same  security,  and  the  same  remedial  justice,  and 
the  same  exemption  from  State  regulations  and  control, 
through  however  many  States  he  may  pass  with  the  fugitive 
slave  in  his  possession,  in  transitu,  to  his  domicile.” 

Here  the  Supreme  Court  emphatically  declare  that  this 
clause  in  the  Constitution  manifestly  contemplates  the  exist- 
ence of  a positive,  unqualified  right  on  the  part  of  the 
owner  of  a slave,  which  no  State  law  or  regulation  can  con- 
trol, and  without  which  the  Union  could  not  have  been 
formed,  and,  further,  that  the  right  to  seize  and  retake  fugi- 
tive slaves,  in  whatever  State  of  the  Union  they  may  be 
found,  is  an  absolute,  positive  right.  But  we  are  not  left 
simply  with  this  constitutional  provision,  for  Congress,  in 
1793,  passed  an  act  designed  to  put  the  provision  into  prac- 
tical operation,  the  last  two  sections  of  which  are  as  fol- 
lows : 

“ Sec.  3.  And  be  it  also  enacted,  That  when  a person 
held  to  labor  in  any  of  the  United  States,  or  in  either  of 
the  territories  on  the  northwest,  or  south  of  the  river  Ohio 

* 

under  the  laws  thereof,  shall  escape  into  any  other  of  the 
said  States  or  territories,  the  person  to  whom  such  labor  or 
service  may  be  due,  his  agent  or  attorney  is  hereby  empow- 
ered to  seize  or  arrest  such  fugitive  from  labor,  and  to  take 


408 


THE  DEED  SCOTT  CASE. 


him  or  her  before  any  judge  of  the  circuit  or  district  courts 
of  the  United  States,  residing  or  being  within  the  State,  or 
before  any  magistrate  of  a county,  city,  or  town  corporate, 
wherein  such  seizure  or  arrest  shall  be  made,  and  upon 
proof  to  the  satisfaction  of  such  judge  or  magistrate,  either 
by  oral  testimony  or  affidavit  taken  before  and  certified  by 
a magistrate  of  any  such  State  or  territory,  that  the  person 
so  seized  or  arrested,  doth,  under  the  laws  of  the  State  or 
territory  from  which  she  or  he  fled,  owe  service  or  labor  to 
the  person  claiming  him  or  her,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
judge  or  magistrate  to  give  a certificate  thereof  to  such 
claimant,  his  ageut  or  attorney,  which  shall  be  sufficient 
warrant  for  removing  the  s£!id  fugitive  from  labor  to  the 
State  or  territory  from  which  he  or  she  fled. 

“ Sec.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  any  person 
who  shall  knowingly  and  willingly  obstruct  and  hinder  such 
claimant,  his  agent  or  attorney,  in  so  seizing  or  arresting 
such  fugitive  from  labor,  or  shall  rescue  such  fugitive  from 
such  claimant,  his  agent  or  attorney,  when  so  arrested,  pur- 
suant to  the  authority  herein  given  or  declared,  or  shall  har- 
bor or  conceal  such  person  after  notice  that  he  or  she  was 
a fugitive  from  labor  as  aforesaid,  shall,  for  either  of  the 
said  offenses,  forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dol- 
lars. Which  penalty  may  be  recovered  by  and  for  the 
benefit  of  such  claimant,  by  action  of  debt,  in  any  court 
proper  to  try  the  same ; saving,  moreover,  to  the  person 
claiming  such  labor  or  service,  his  right  of  action  for  or  on 
account  of  the  said  injuries  or  either  of  them.” 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESSES  OF  WASHINGTON,  ADAMS,  JEFFERSON, 
AND  MADISON  ; AND  THE  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES  OF  WASH- 
INGTON AND  JACKSON. 

The  oath  of  office  having,  on  Thursday,  April  30,  1189, 
been  administered  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, to  George  Washington,  President  of  the  United 
States,  he  then  made  the  following  Inaugural  Address  : 

Fellow- Citizens  of  the  Senate,  and 

of  the  House  of  Representatives : 

Among  the  vicissitudes  incident  to  life,  no  event  could 
have  filled  me  with  greater  anxieties  than  that  of  which  the 
notification  was  transmitted  by  your  order,  and  received  on 
the  fourteenth  day  of  the  present  month.  On  the  one  hand, 
I was  summoned  by  my  country,  whose  voice  I can  never 
hear  but  with  veneration  and  love,  from  a retreat  which  I 
had  chosen  with  the  fondest  predilection,  and,  in  my  flatter- 
ing hopes,  with  an  immutable  decision,  as  the  asylum  of  my 
declining  years  ; a retreat  which  was  rendered  every  day 
more  necessary,  as  well  as  more  dear  to  me,  by  the  addition 
of  habit  to  inclination,  and  of  frequent  interruptions  in  my 
health,  to  Ae  gradual  waste  committed  on  it  by  time.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  magnitude  and  difficulty  of  the  trust  to 
which  the  voice  of  my  country  called  me,  being  sufficient  to 
awaken  in  the  wisest  and  most  experienced  of  her  citizens  a 
distrustful  scrutiny  into  his  qualifications,  conld  not  but 
overwhelm  with  despondence  one,  who,  inheriting  inferior 

(409) 


410  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


endowments  from  nature,  and  unpracticed  in  the  duties  of 
civil  administration,  ought  to  be  peculiarly  conscious  of  his 
own  deficiencies.  In  this  conflict  of  emotions,  all  I dare 
aver,  is,  that  it  has  been  my  faithful  study  to  collect  my 
duty  from  a just  appreciation  of  every  circumstance  by 
which  it  might  be  affected.  All  I dare  hope,  is,  that  if,  in 
executing  this  task,  I have  been  too  much  swayed  by  a 
grateful  remembrance  of  former  instances,  or  by  an  affec- 
tionate sensibility  to  this  transcendent  proof,  of  the  confi- 
dence of  my  fellow-citizens,  and  have  thence  too  little  con- 
sulted my  incapacity  as  well  as  disinclination  for  the  weighty 
and  untried  cares  before  me,  my  error  will  be  palliated  by 
the  motives  which  misled  me,  and  its  consequences  be  judged 
by  my  country,  with  some  share  of  the  partiality  in  which 
they  originated. 

Such  being  the  impressions  under  which  I have,  in  obe- 
dience to  the  public  summons,  repaired  to  the  present  sta- 
tion, it  would  be  peculiarly  improper  to  omit,  in  this  first 
official  act,  my  fervent  supplications  to  that  Almighty  Being 
who  rules  over  the  universe — who  presides  in  the  councils 
of  nations,  and  whose  providential  aids  can  supply  every 
human  defect — that  his  benediction  may  consecrate  to  the 
liberties  and  happiness  of  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
a government  instituted  by  themselves  for  these  essential 
purposes,  and  may  enable  every  instrument  employed  in 
its  administration  to  execute  with  success  the  functions 
allotted  to  his  charge.  In  tendering  this  homage  to  the 
Great  Author  of  every  public  and  private  good,  I assure 
myself  that  it  expresses  your  sentiments  not  less  than  my 
own  ; nor  those  of  my  fellow-citizens  at  large,  less  than 
either.  No  people  can  be  bound  to  acknowledge  and 
adore  the  invisible  hand  which  conducts  the  affairs  of  men, 
more  than  the  people  of  the  United  States.  Every  step  by 
which  they  have  advanced  to  the  character  of  an  indepen- 
dent nation,  seems  to  have  been  distinguished  by  some 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  411 


token  of  providential  agency;  and  in  the  important  revolu- 
tion just  accomplished  in  the  system  of  their  united  govern- 
ment, the  tranquil  deliberations,  and  voluntary  consent  of 
so  many  distinct  communities,  from  which  the  event  has 
resulted,  cannot  be  compared  with  the  means  by  which 
most  governments  have  been  established,  without  some  re- 
turn of  pious  gratitude,  along  with  an  humble  anticipation 
of  the  future  blessings  which  the  past  seem  to  presage. 
These  reflections,  arising  out  of  the  present  crisis,  have 
forced  themselves  too  strongly  on  my  mind  to  be  sup- 
pressed. You  will  join  with  me,  I trust,  in  thinking  that  there 
are  none,  under  the  influence  of  which  the  proceedings  of  a 
new  and  free  government  can  more  auspiciously  commence. 

By  the  article  establishing  the  executive  department,  it 
is  made  the  duty  of  the  President  “to  recommend  to  your 
consideration  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary 
and  expedient.”  The  circumstances  under  which  I now 
meet  you  will  acquit  me  from  entering  into  that  subject, 
further  than  to  refer  to  the  great  constitutional  charter  un- 
der which  yon  are  assembled  ; and  which,  in  defining  your 
powers,  designates  the  objects  to  which  your  attention  is 
to  be  given.  It  will  be  more  consistent  with  those  circum- 
stances, and  far  more  congenial  with  the  feelings  which 
actuate  me,  to  substitute,  in  place  of  a recommendation  of 
particular  measures,  the  tribute  that  is  due  to  the  talents, 
the  rectitude,  and  the  patriotism,  which  adorn  the  charac- 
ters selected  to  devise  and  adopt  them.  In  these  honorable 
qualifications  I behold  the  surest  pledges  that,  as  on  one 
side,  no  local  prejudices  or  attachments,  no  separate  views 
or  party  animosities,  will  misdirect  the  comprehensive  and 
equal  eye  which  ought  to  watch  over  this  great  assemblage 
of  communities  and  interests;  so,  on  another,  that  the  foun- 
dations of  our  national  policy  will  be  laid  in  the  pure  and 
immutable  principles  of  private  morality;  and  the  pre- 
eminence of  free  government  be  exemplified  by  all  the  attri- 


412  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


butes  which  can  win  the  affections  of  its  citizens,  and  com- 
mand the  respect  of  the  world.  I dwell  on  this  prospect 
with  every  satisfaction  which  an  ardent  love  for  my  country 
can  inspire : since  there  is  no  truth  more  thoroughly  estab- 
lished, than  that  there  exists  in  the  economy  and  course  of 
nature  an  indissoluble  uniou  between  virtue  and  happi- 
ness— between  duty  and  advantage — between  the  genuine 
maxims  of  an  honest  and  magnanimous  policy,  and  the 
solid  rewards  of  public  prosperity  and  felicity  ; since  we 
ought  to  be  no  less  persuaded  that  the  propitious  smiles  of 
Heaven  can  never  be  expected  on  a nation  that  disregards 
the  eternal  rules  of  order  and  right,  which  Heaven  itself 
has  ordained  ; and  since  the  preservation  of  the  sacred  fire 
of  liberty,  and  the  destiny  of  the  republican  model  of 
government,  are  justly  considered  as  deeply,  perhaps  as 
finally,  staked,  on  the  experiment  intrusted  to  the  hands  of 
the  American  people. 

Besides  the  ordinary  objects  submitted  to  your  care,  it 
will  remain  with  your  judgment  to  decide  how  far  an  ex- 
ercise of  the  occasional  power  delegated  by  the  fifth  article 
of  the  Constitution,  is  rendered  expedient  at  the  present 
juncture,  by  the  nature  of  objections  which  have  been  urged 
against  the  system,  or  by  the  degree  of  inquietude  which 
has  given  birth  to  them.  Instead  of  undertaking  particu- 
lar recommendations  on  this  subject,  in  which  I could  be 
guided  by  no  lights  derived  from  official  opportunities,  I 
shall  again  give  way  to  my  entire  confidence  in  your  dis- 
cernment and  pursuit  of  the  public  good  ; for,  I assure 
myself,  that  whilst  you  carefully  avoid  every  alteration 
which  might  endanger  the  benefits  of  an  united  and  effec- 
tive government,  or  which  ought  to  await  the  future  lessons 
of  experience,  a reverence  for  the  characteristic  rights  of 
freemen,  and  a regard  for  the  public  harmony,  will  suffi- 
ciently influence  your  deliberations  on  the  question,  how 


Ilf  AUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  41 S 

far  the  former  can  be  more  impregnably  fortified,  or  the 
latter  be  safely  and  advantageously  promoted. 

To  the  preceding  observations  I have  one  to  add,  which 
will  be  most  properly  addressed  to  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. It  concerns  myself,  and  will,  therefore,  be  as 
brief  as  possible.  When  I was  first  honored  with  a call 
into  the  service  of  my  country,  then  on  the  eve  of  an  ardu- 
ous struggle  for  its  liberties,  the  light  in  which  I contem- 
plated my  duty  required  that  I should  renounce  every  pe- 
cuniary compensation.  From  this  resolution  I have  in  no 
instance  departed.;  and  being  still  under  the  impressions 
which  produced  it,  I must  decline,  as  inapplicable  to  my- 
self, any  share  iu  the  personal  emoluments  which  may  be 
indispensably  included  in  a permanent  provision  for  the  ex- 
ecutive department ; and  must  accordingly  pray  that  the 
pecuniary  estimates  for  the  station  in  which  I am  placed, 
may,  during  my  continuance  in  it,  be  limited  to  such  actual 
expenditures  as  the  public  good  may  be  thought  to  require. 

Having  thus  imparted  to  you  my  sentiments,  as  they 
have  been  awakened  by  the  occasion  which  brings  us  to- 
gether, I shall  take  my  present  leave  ; but  not  without  re- 
sorting once  more  to  the  benign  Parent  of  the  human  race 
in  humble  supplication,  that,  since  he  has  been  pleased  to 
favor  the  American  people  with  opportunities  for  delibe- 
rating iu  perfect  tranquillity,  and  dispositions  for  deciding, 
with  unparalleled  unanimity,  on  a form  of  government  for 
the  security  of  their  Union,  and  the  advancement  of  their 
happiness,  so  his  Divine  blessing  may  be  equally  conspicu- 
ous in  the  enlarged  views,  the  temperate  consultations,  and 
the  wise  measures,  on  which  the  success  of  this  government 
must  depend.  G.  WASHINGTON. 

April  30,  1789 


414  INAUGURAL  AND  FAR  LIVE  L ADDRESSES. 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  OF  JOHN  ADAMS,  PRESIDENT 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

March  4,  IT 97. 

When  it  was  first  perceived,  in  early  times,  that  no  middle 
course  for  America  remained  between  unlimited  submission 
to  a foreign  legislature  and  a total  independence  of  its 
claims,  men  of  reflection  were  less  apprehensive  of  dangei 
from  the  formidable  power  of  fleets  and  armies  they  must 
determine  to  resist,  than  from  those  contests  and  dissensions 
which  would  certainly  arise  concerning  the  forms  of  govern- 
ment to  be  instituted  over  the  whole  and' over  the  parts  of 
this  extensive  country.  Relying,  however,  on  the  purity  of 
their  intentions,  the  justice  of  their  cause,  and  the  integrity 
and  intelligence  of  the  people,  under  an  overruling  Provi- 
dence, which  had  so  signally  protected  this  country  from 
the  first,  the  representatives  of  this  nation,  then  consisting 
of  little  more  than  half  its  present  number,  not  only  broke 
to  pieces  the  chains  which  were  forging,  and  the  rod  of 
iron  that  was  lifted  up,  but  frankly  cut  asunder  the  ties 
which  had  bound  them,  and  launched  into  an  ocean  of  un- 
certainty. 

The  zeal  and  ardor  of  the  people,  during  the  revolutionary 
war,  supplying  the  place  of  government,  commanded  a de- 
gree of  order,  sufficient  at  least  for  the  temporary  preserva- 
tion of  society.  The  Confederation,  which  was  early  felt 
to  be  necessary,  was  prepared  from  the  models  of  the 
Batavian  and  Helvetic  confederacies — the  only  examples 
which  remain,  with  any  detail  and  precision,  in  history,  and 
certainly  the  only  ones  which  the  people  at  large  had  ever 
considered.  But,  reflecting  on  the  striking  difference,  in  so 
many  particulars,  between  this  country  and  those  where  a 
courier  may  go  from  the  seat  of  government  to  the  frontier 
in  a single  day,  it  was  then  certainly  foreseen,  by  some  who 
assisted  in  Congress  at  the  formation  of  it,  that  it  could  not 
be  durable. 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  415 


Negligence  of  its  regulations,  inattention  to  its  recom- 
mendations, if  not  disobedience  to  its  authority,  not  only 
in  individuals,  but  in  States,  soon  appeared,  with  their 
melancholy  consequences  : universal  languor  ; jealousies  and 
rivalries  of  States;  decline  of  navigation  and  commerce; 
discouragement  of  necessary  manufactures  ; universal  fall  in 
the  value  of  lands  and  their  produce  ; contempt  of  public 
and  private  faith  ; loss  of  consideration  and  credit  with 
foreign  nations;  and,  at  length,  in  discontents,  animosities, 
combinations,  partial  conventions,  and  insurrection,  threat- 
ening some  great  national  calamity. 

In  this  dangerous  crisis,  the  people  of  America  were  not 
abandoned  by  their  usual  good  sense,  presence  of  mind, 
resolution,  or  integrity.  Measures  were  pursued  to  concert 
a plan  to  form  a more  perfect  union,  establish  justice,  ensure 
domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defense,  pro- 
mote the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty, 
The  public  disquisitions,  discussions,  and  deliberations, 
issued  in  the  present  happy  constitution  of  government. 

Employed  in  the  service  of  my  country  abroad  during 
the  whole  course  of  these  transactions,  I first  saw  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  in  a foreign  country.  Irri- 
tated by  no  literary  altercation,  animated  by  no  public 
debate,  heated  by  no  party  animosity,  I read  it  with  great 
satisfaction,  as  the  result  of  good  heads,  prompted  by  good 
hearts — as  an  experiment,  better  adapted  to  the  genius, 
character,  situation,  and  relations,  of  this  nation  and  coun- 
try, than  any  which  had  ever  been  proposed  or  suggested. 
In  its  general  principles  and  great  outlines,  it  was  con- 
formable to  such  a system  of  government  as  I had  ever  most 
esteemed,  and  in  some  States,  my  own  native  State  in  par- 
ticular, had  contributed  to  establish.  Claiming  a right  of 
suffrage,  in  common  with  my  fellow- citizens,  in  the  adoption 
or  rejection  of  a Constitution  which  was  to  rule  me  and  my 
posterity,  as  well  as  them  and  theirs;  I did  not  hesitate  to 


416  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

express  my  approbation  of  it,  on  all  occasions,  in  public 
and  in  private.  It  was  not  then,  nor  has  been  since,  any 
objection  to  it,  in  my  mind,  that  the  executive  and  Senate 
were  not  more  permanent.  Nor  have  I ever  entertained  a 
thought  of  promoting  any  alteration  in  it,  but  such  as  the 
people  themselves,  in  the  course  of  their  experience,  should 
see  and  feel  to  be  necessary  or  expedient,  and,  by  their 
representatives  in  Congress  and  the  State  legislatures, 
according  to  the  Constitution  itself,  adopt  and  ordain. 

Returning  to  the  bosom  of  my  country,  after  a painful 
separation  from  it,  for  ten  years,  I had  the  honor  to  be 
elected  to  a station  under  the  new  order  of  things,  and  I 
have  repeatedly  laid  myself  under  the  most  serious  obliga- 
tions to  support  the  Constitution.  The  operation  of  it  has 
equalled  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  its  friends  ; and, 
from  an  habitual  attention  to  it,  satisfaction  in  its  adminis- 
tration, and  delight  in  its  effects  upon  the  peace,  order, 
prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  nation,  I have  acquired  an 
habitual  attachment  to  it  and  veneration  for  it. 

What  other  form  of  government,  indeed,  can  so  well 
deserve  our  esteem  and  love  ? 

There  may  be  little  solidity  in  an  ancient  idea,  that  con- 
gregations of  men  into  cities  and  nations  are  the  most 
pleasing  objects  in  the  sight  of  superior  intelligences ; but 
this  is  very  certain,  that,  to  a benevolent  human  mind,  there 
can  be  no  spectacle  presented  by  any  nation  more  pleasing, 
more  noble,  majestic,  or  august,  than  an  assembly  like  that 
which  has  so  often  been  seen  in  this  and  the  other  chamber 
of  Congress,  of  a government  in  which  the  executive 
authority,  as  well  as  that  of  all  the  branches  of  the  legisla- 
ture, are  exercised  by  citizens  selected,  at  regular  periods, 
by  their  neighbors,  to  make  and  execute  laws  for  the  gene- 
ral good.  Can  anything  essential,  anything  more  than 
mere  ornament  and  decoration,  be  added  to  this  by  robes 
and  diamonds  ? Can  authority  be  more  amiable  and 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  417 


respectable  when  it  descends  from  accidents,  or  institutions 
established  in  remote  antiquity,  than  when  it  springs  fresh 
from  the  hearts  and  judgments  of  an  honest  and  enlightened 
people  ? For  it  is  the  people  ouly  that  are  represented  : 
it  is  their  power  and  majesty  that  is  reflected,  and  only  for 
their  good,  in  every  legitimate  government,  under  whatever 
form  it  may  appear.  The  existence  of  such  a government 
as  ours,  for  auy  length  of  time,  is  a full  proof  of  a general 
dissemination  of  knowledge  and  virtue  throughout  the 
whole  body  of  the  people.  And  what  object  or  considera- 
tion more  pleasiug  than  this  can  be  presented  to  the  human 
mind?  If  national  pride  is  ever  justifiable,  or  excusable,  it 
is  when  it  springs,  not  from  power  or  riches,  grandeur  or 
glory,  but  from  conviction  of  national  innocence,  informa- 
tion, and  benevolence. 

In  the  midst  of  these  pleasing  ideas,  we  should  be  un- 
faithful to  ourselves  if  we  should  ever  lose  sight  of  the 
danger  to  our  liberties — if  anything  partial  or  extraneous 
should  infect  the  purity  of  our  free,  fair,  virtuous,  and  inde- 
pendent elections.  If  an  election  is  to  be  determined  by  a 
majority  of  a single  vote,  and  that  can  be  secured  by  a 
party,  through  artifice  or  corruption,  the  government  may 
be  the  choice  of  a party,  for  its  own  ends — not  of  the 
nation,  for  the  national  good.  If  that  solitary  suffrage  can 
be  obtained  by  foreign  nations  by  flattery  or  menaces,  by 
fraud  or  violence,  by  terror,  intrigue,  or  venality,  the  gov- 
ernment may  not  be  the  choice  of  the  American  people, 
but  of  foreign  nations.  It  may  be  foreign  nations  who 
govern  us,  and  not  we  the  people  who  govern  ourselves. 
Ana  candid  men  will  acknowledge,  that,  in  such  cases,  choice 
would  have  little  advantage  to  boast  of,  over  lot  or  chance. 

Such  is  the  amiable  and  interesting  system  of  government 
(and  such  are  some  of  the  abuses  to  which  it  may  be  exposed) 
which  the  people  of  America  have  exhibited  to  the  admira- 
tion and  anxiety  of  the  wise  and  virtuous  of  all  nations,  for 
27 


418  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


eight  years,  under  the  administration  of  a citizen,  who,  by 
a long  course  of  great  actious,  regulated  by  prudence,  jus- 
tice, temperance,  and  fortitude,  conducting  a people  inspired 
with  the  same  virtues,  and  animated  with  the  same  ardent 
patriotism  and  love  of  liberty,  to  independence  and  peace, 
to  increasing  wealth  and  unexampled  prosperity,  has  merited 
the  gratitude  of  his  fellow-citizens,  commanded  the  highest 
praises  of  foreign  nations,  and  secured  immortal  glory  with 
posterity. 

In  that  retirement  which  is  his  voluntary  choice,  may  he 
long  live  to  enjoy  the  delicious  recollection  of  his  services, 
the  gratitude  of  mankind,  the  happy  fruits  of  them  to  him- 
self and  the  world,  which  are  daily  increasing,  and  that 
splendid  prospect  of  the  future  fortunes  of  this  country 
which  is  opening  from  year  to  year.  His  name  may  be  still 
a rampart,  and  the  knowledge  that  he  lives  a bulwark, 
against  all  open  or  secret  enemies  of  his  country’s  peace. 
This  example  has  been  recommended  to  the  imitation  of  his 
successors,  by  both  houses  of  Congress  and  by  the  voice  of 
the  legislatures  and  the  people  throughout  the  nation. 

On  this  subject  it  might  become  me  better  to  be  silent,  or 
to  speak  with  diffidence  ; but,  as  something  may  be  expected, 
the  occasion,  I hope,  will  be  admitted  as  an  apology,  if  I 
venture  to  say,  That — 

If  a preference,  upon  principle,  of  a free  republican 
government,  formed  upon  long  and  serious  reflection,  after 
a diligent  and  impartial  inquiry  after  truth  ; if  an  attach- 
ment to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  a con 
scientious  determination  to  support  it,  until  it  shall  be 
altered  by  the  judgments  and  wishes  of  the  people,  expressed 
in  the  mode  prescribed  in  it ; if  a respectable  attention  to  the 
constitutions  of  the  individual  States,  and  a constant  caution 
and  delicacy  towards  the  State  governments  ; if  an  equal 
and  impartial  regard  to  the  rights,  interest,  honor,  and  happi- 
ness, of  all  the  States  in  the  Union,  without  preference  or 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  419 

regard  to  a northern  or  southern,  an  eastern  or  western 
position,  their  various  political  opinions  on  unessential 
points,  or  their  personal  attachments;  if  a love  of  virtuous 
men,  of  all  parties  and  denominations  ; if  a love  of  science 
and  letters,  and  a wish  to  patronize  every  rational  effort  to 
encourage  schools,  colleges,  universities,  academies,  and 
every  institution  for  propagating  knowledge,  virtue,  and  re- 
ligion, among  all  classes  of  the  people,  not  only  for  their 
benign  influence  on  the  happiness  of  life  in  all  its  stages 
and  classes,  and  of  society  in  all  its  forms,  but  as  the  only 
means  of  preserving  our  Constitution  from  its  natural 
enemies,  the  spirit  of  sophistry,  the  spirit  of  party,  the  spirit 
of  intrigue,  the  profligacy  of  corruption,  and  the  pestilence 
of  foreign  influence,  which  is  the  angel  of  destruction  to 
elective  governments ; if  a love  of  equal  laws,  of  justice, 
and  humanity,  in  the  interior  administration  ; if  au  inclina- 
tion to  improve  agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufactures 
for  necessity,  convenience,  and  defense  ; if  a spirit  of  equity 
and  humanity  towards  the  aboriginal  nations  of  America, 
and  a disposition  to  meliorate  their  condition,  by  inclining 
them  to  be  more  friendly  to  us,  and  our  citizens  to  be  more 
friendly  to  them  ; if  an  inflexible  determination  to  maintain 
peace  and  inviolable  faith  with  all  nations,  and  that  system 
of  neutrality  and  impartiality  among  the  belligerent  powers 
of  Europe  which  has  been  adopted  by  this  government,  and 
so  solemnly  sanctioned  by  both  houses  of  Congress,  and 
applauded  by  the  legislatures  of  the  States  and  the  public 
opinion,  until  it  shall  be  otherwise  ordained  by  Congress ; 
if  a personal  esteem  for  the  French  nation,  formed  in  a resi- 
dence of  seven  years  chiefly  among  them,  and  a sincere  de- 
sire to  preserve  the  friendship  which  has  been  so  much  for 
the  honor  and  interest  of  both  nations  ; if,  while  the  con- 
scious honor  and  integrity  of  the  people  of  America,  and 
the  internal  sentiment  of  their  own  power  and  energies, 
must  be  preserved,  an  earnest  endeavor  to  investigate  every 


£20  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


,/ust  cause,  and  remove  every  colorable  pretense  of  complaint; 
/{’  an  intention  to  pursue,  by  amicable  negotiation,  a repara- 
tion for  the  injuries  that  have  been  committed  on  the  com- 
merce of  our  fellow-citizens,  by  whatever  nation,  and  if 
success  cannot  be  obtained,  to  lay  the  facts  before  the 
legislature,  that  they  may  consider  what  further  measures 
the  honor  and  interest  of  the  government  and  its  constitu- 
ents demand  ; if  a resolution  to  do  justice,  as  far  as  may 
depend  upon  me,  at  all  times  and  to  all  nations,  and  main- 
tain peace,  friendship,  and  benevolence,  with  all  the  world ; 
if  an  unshaken  confidence  in  the  honor,  spirit,  and  resources 
of  the  American  people,  on  which  I have  so  often  hazarded 
my  all,  and  never  been  deceived  ; if  elevated  ideas  of  the 
high  destinies,  of  this  country,  and  of  my  own  duties  toward 
it,  founded  on  a knowledge  of  the  moral  principles  and  in- 
tellectual improvements  of  the  people,  deeply  engraven  on 
my  mind  in  early  life,  and  not  obscured,  but  exalted,  by 
experience  and  age  ; and,  with  humble  reverence,  I feel  it 
to  be  my  duty  to  add,  if  a veneration  for  the  religion  of  a 
people  who  profess  and  call  themselves  Christians,  and  a 
■fixed  resolution  to  consider  a decent  respect  for  Christianity 
among  the  best  recommendations  for  the  public  service, — ■ 
can  enable  me,  in  any  degree,  to  comply  with  your  wishes, 
it  shall  be  my  strenuous  endeavor  that  this  sagacious  injunc- 
tion of  the  two  houses  shall  not  be  without  effect. 

With  this  great  example  before  me — with  the  sense  and 
spirit,  the  faith  and  honor,  the  duty  and  interest,  of  the 
same  American  people,  pledged  to  support  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  I entertain  no  doubt  of  its  continuance 
in  all  its  energy,  and  my  mind  is  prepared,  without  hesita- 
tion, to  lay  myself  under  the  most  solemn  obligations  to 
support  it  to  the  utmost  of  my  power. 

And  may  that  Being  who  is  supreme  over  all,  the  Patron 
of  order,  the  Fountain  of  justice,  and  the  Protector,  in  all 
ages  of  the  world,  of  virtuous  liberty,  continue  His  bless- 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  421 

ing  upon  this  nation  and  its  government,  and  give  it  all 
possible  success  and  duration  consistent  with  the  ends  of 
His  providence. 

INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  OP  THOMAS  JEFFERSON, 
PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

At  his  first  term  of  office,  March  4,  1801. 

Friends  and  fellow-citizens  : — Called  upon  to  undertake 
the  duties  of  the  first  executive  office  of  our  country,  I 
avail  myself  of  the  presence  of  that  portion  of  my  fellow 
citizens  which  is  here  assembled,  to  express  my  grateful 
thanks  for  the  favor  with  which  they  have  been  pleased  to 
look  towards  me,  to  declare  a sincere  consciousness  that  the 
task  is  above  my  talents,  and  that  I approach  it  with  those 
anxious  and  awful  presentiments  which  the  greatness  of  the 
charge,  and  the  weakness  of  my  powers,  so  justly  inspire. 
A rising  nation,  spread  over  a wide  and  fruitful  land; 
traversing  all  the  seas  with  the  rich  productions  of  their 
industry  ; engaged  in  commerce  with  nations  who  feel 
power,  and  forget  right ; advancing  rapidly  to  destinies  be- 
yond the  reach  of  mortal  eye — when  I contemplate  these 
transcendent  objects,  and  see  the  honor,  the  happiness,  and 
the  hopes  of  this  beloved  country,  committed  to  the  issue 
and  the  auspices  of  this  day,  I shrink  from  the  contem- 
plation, and  humble  myself  before  the  magnitude  of  the 
undertaking.  Utterly,  indeed,  should  I despair,  did  not 
the  presence  of  many  whom  I here  see,  remind  me,  that,  in 
the  other  high  authorities  provided  by  our  Constitution,  I 
shall  find  resources  of  wisdom,  of  virtue,  and  of  zeal,  on 
which  to  rely  under  all  difficulties.  To  you,  then,  gentle- 
men, who  are  charged  with  the  sovereign  functions  of 
legislation,  and  to  those  associated  with  you,  I look  with 
encouragement  for  that  guidance  and  support  which  may 
enable  us  to  steer  with  safety  the  vessel  in  which  we  are  all 


422  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


embarked,  amidst  the  conflicting  elements  of  a troubled 
world. 

During  the  contest  of  opinion  through  which  we  have 
passed,  the  animation  of  discussions  and  of  exertions  has 
sometimes  worn  an  aspect  which  might  impose  on  strangers 
unused  to  think  freely,  and  to  speak  and  to  write  what  they 
may  think  ; but,  this  being  now  decided  by  the  voice  of  the 
nation,  announced,  according  to  the  rules  of  the  Constitution, 
all  will,  of  course,  arrange  themselves  under  the  will  of  the 
law,  and  unite  in  common  efforts  for  the  common  good. 
All,  too,  will  bear  in  mind  this  sacred  principle,  that,  though 
the  will  of  the  majority  is  in  all  cases  to  prevail,  that  will, 
to  be  rightful,  must  be  reasonable  ; that  the  minority  pos- 
sess their  equal  rights,  which  equal  laws  must  protect,  and 
to  violate  would  be  oppression.  Let  us,  then,  fellow- 
citizens,  unite,  with  one  heart  and  one  mind  ; let  us  restore 
to  social  intercourse,  that  harmony  and  affection,  without 
which  liberty,  and  even  life  itself,  are  but  dreary  things. 
And  let  us  reflect,  that,  having  banished  from  our  land  that 
religious  intolerance  under  which  mankind  so  long  bled  and 
'suffered,  we  have  yet  gained  little,  if  we  countenance  a po- 
litical intolerance  as  despotic,  as  wicked,  and  capable  of 
as  bitter  and  bloody  persecutions.  During  the  throes  and 
convulsions  of  the  ancient  world  ; during  the  agonizing 
spasms  of  infuriated  man,  seeking,  through  blood  and 
slaughter,  his  long-lost  liberty,  it  was  not  wonderful  that 
the  agitation  of  the  billows  should  reach  even  this  distant 
and  peaceful  shore ; that  this  should  be  more  felt  and 
feared  by  some,  and  less  by  others,  and  should  divide 
opinions  as  to  measures  of  safety  ; but  every  difference  of 
opinion  is  not  a difference  of  principle.  We  have  called 
by  different  names  brethren  of  the  same  principle.  We  are 
all  republicans ; we  are  all  federalists.  If  there  be  any 
among  us  who  would  wish  to  dissolve  this  Union,  or  to 
change  its  republican  form,  let  them  stand,  undisturbed,  as 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  423 

monuments  of  the  safety  with  which  error  of  opinion  may 
be  tolerated,  where  reason  is  left  free  to  combat  it.  I 
know,  indeed,  that  some  honest  men  fear  that  a republican 
government  cannot  be  strong — that  this  government  is  not 
strong  enough.  But  would  the  honest  patriot,  in  the  full 
tide  of  successful  experiment,  abandon  a government  which 
has  so  far  kept  us  free  and  firm,  on  the  theoretic  and  vis- 
ionary fear,  that  this  government,  the  world’s  best  hope, 
may,  by  possibility,  want  energy  to  preserve  itself  ? I trust 
not.  I believe  this,  on  the  contrary,  the  strongest  govern- 
ment on  earth.  I believe  it  the  only  one  where  every  man, 
at  the  call  of  the  law,  would  fly  to  the  standard  of  the  law, 
and  would  meet  invasions  of  the  public  order  as  his  own 
personal  concern.  Sometimes,  it  is  said,  that  man  cannot 
be  trusted  with  the  government  of  himself.  Can  he  then 
be  trusted  with  the  government  of  others  ? Or,  have  we 
found  angels,  in  the  form  of  kings,  to  govern  him  ? Let 
history  answer  this  question. 

Let  us,  then,  with  courage  and  confidence  pursue  our  own 
federal  and  republican  principles — our  attachment  to  union 
and  representative  government.  Kindly  separated  by  na- 
ture and  a wide  ocean  from  the  exterminating  havoc  of  one 
quarter  of  the  globe  ; too  high-minded  to  endure  the  degra- 
dations of  the  others  ; possessing  a chosen  country,  with 
room  enough  for  our  descendants  to  the  hundredth  and 
thousandth  generation  ; entertaining  a due  sense  of  our 
equal  right  to  the  use  of  our  own  faculties,  to  the  acquisi- 
tions of  our  own  industry,  to  honor  and  confidence  from  our 
fellow-citizens,  resulting,  not  from  birth,  but  from  our  ac- 
tions, and  their  sense  of  them  ; enlightened  by  a benign  re- 
ligion, professed,  indeed,  and  practiced  in  various  forms,  yet 
all  of  them  inculcating  honesty,  truth,  temperance,  gratitude, 
and  the  love  of  man  ; acknowledging  and  adoring  an  over- 
ruling Providence,  which,  by  all  its  dispensations,  proves 
that  it  delights  in  the  happiness  of  man  here,  and  his  greater 


424  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


happiness  hereafter — with  all  these  blessings,  what  more  is 
necessary  to  make  us  a happy  and  prosperous  people  ? Still 
one  thing  more,  fellow-citizens  : a wise  and  frugal  govern- 
ment, which  shall  restrain  men  from  injuring  one  another, 
shall  leave  them  otherwise  free  to  regulate  their  own  pur- 
suits of  industry  and  improvement,  and  shall  not  take  from 
the  mouth  of  labor  the  bread  it  has  earned.  This  is  the 
sum  of  good  government,  and  this  is  necessary  to  close  tho 
circle  of  our  felicities. 

About  to  enter,  fellow-citizens,  on  the  exercise  of  duties 
which  comprehend  everything  dear  and  valuable  to  you,  is 
is  proper  you  should  understand  what  I deem  the  essential 
principles  of  our  government,  and  consequently,  those  which 
ought  to  shape  its  administration.  I will  compress  thetn 
within  the  narrowest  compass  they  will  bear — stating  the 
general  principle,  but  not  all  its  limitations.  Equal  and 
exact  justice  to  all  men,  of  whatever  state  or  persuasion,  re- 
ligious or  political;  peace,  commerce,  and  honest  friendship 
with  all  nations,  entangling  alliances  with  none  ; the  snpport 
of  the  State  governments  in  all  their  rights,  as  the  most  com- 
.petent  administrations  for  our  domestic  concerns,  and  the 
surest  bulwarks  against  anti-republican  tendencies  ; the  pre- 
servation of  the  general  government  in  its  whole  constitu- 
tional vigor,  as  the  sheet-anchor  of  our  peace  at  home  and 
safety  abroad  ; a jealous  care  of  the  right  of  election  by  the 
people ; a mild  and  safe  corrective  of  abuses  which  are 
lopped  by  the  sword  of  revolution,  where  peaceable  remedies 
are  unprovided ; absolute  acquiescence  in  the  decisions  of 
the  majority,  the  vital  principle  of  republics,  from  which  is 
no  appeal  but  to  force,  the  vital  principle  and  immediate 
parent  of  despotism  ; a well-disciplined  militia,  our  best  re- 
liance in  peace,  and  for  the  first  moments  of  war,  till  regu- 
lars may  relieve  them  ; the  supremacy  of  the  civil  over  the 
military  authority ; economy  in  the  public  expense,  that 
labor  may  be  lightly  burdened  ; the  honest  payment  of  our 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  425 

debts,  and  sacred  preservation  of  tbe  public  faith  ; encourage- 
ment of  agriculture,  and  of  commerce  as  its  handmaid  ; the 
diffusion  of  information,  and  arraignment  of  all  abuses  at  the 
bar  of  the  public  reason  ; freedom  of  religion,  freedom  of  the 
press,  and  freedom  of  person,  under  the  protection  of  the 
habeas  corpus ; and  trial  by  juries  impartially  selected. 
These  principles  form  the  bright  constellation  which  has 
gone  before  ns,  and  guided  our  steps  through  an  age  of  revo- 
lution and  reformation.  The  wisdom  of  our  sages  and  blood 
of  our  heroes  have  been  devoted  to  their  attainment.  They 
should  be  the  creed  of  our  political  faith,  the  text  of  civic 
instruction,  the  touch-stone  by  which  to  try  the  services  of 
those  we  trust;  and  should  we  wander  from  them  in  mo- 
ments of  error  or  of  alarm,  let  us  hasten  to  retrace  our  steps, 
and  to  regain  the  road  which  alone  leads  to  peace,  liberty, 
and  safety. 

I repair,  then,  fellow-citizens,  to  the  post  you  have  assigned 
me.  With  experience  enough  in  subordinate  offices  to  have 
seen  the  difficulties  of  this,  the  greatest  of  all,  I have  learned 
to  expect  that  it  will  rarely  fall  to  the  lot  of  imperfect  man 
to  retire  from  this  station  with  the  reputation  and  the  favor 
which  brought  him  into  it.  Without  pretensions  to  that 
high  confidence  you  reposed  in  our  first  and  greatest  revo- 
lutionary character,  whose  pre-eminent  services  had  entitled 
him  to  the  first  place  in  his  country’s  love,  and  destined  for 
him  the  fairest  page  in  the  volume  of  faithful  history,  I ask 
so  much  confidence  only  as  may  give  firmness  and  effect  to 
the  legal  administration  of  your  affairs.  I shall  often  go 
wrong,  through  defect  of  judgment.  When  right,  I shall 
often  be  thought  wrong  by  those  whose  positions  will  not 
command  a view  of  the  whole  ground.  I ask  your  indul- 
gence for  my  own  errors,  which  will  never  be  intentional, 
and  your  support  against  the  errors  of  others,  who  may  con- 
demn what  they  would  uot  if  seen  in  all  its  parts.  The  ap- 
probation implied  by  your  suffrage  is  a great  consolation  to 


426  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

me  for  the  past;  and  my  future  solicitude  will  be,  to  retain 
the  good  opinion  of  those  who  have  bestowed  it  in  advance, 
to  conciliate  that  of  others  by  doing  them  all  the  good  in 
my  power,  and  to  be  instrumental  to  the  happiness  and  free- 
dom of  all. 

Relying,  then,  on  the  patronage  of  your  good  will,  I ad- 
vance with  obedience  to  the  work,  ready  to  retire  from  it 
whenever  you  become  sensible  how  much  better  choices  it 
is  in  your  power  to  make.  And  may  that  Infinite  Power 
which  rules  the  destinies  of  the  universe,  lead  our  councils 
to  what  is  best,  and  give  them  a favorable  issue  for  your 
peace  and  prosperity. 

INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  OF  THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  PRE- 
SIDENT OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

At  his  second  term  of  office,  March  4,  1805. 

Proceeding,  fellow-citizens,  to  that  qualification  which 
the  Constitution  requires  before  my  entrance  on  the  charge 
again  conferred  on  me,  it  is  my  duty  to  express  the  deep 
sense  I entertain  of  this  new  proof  af  confidence  from  my 
fellow-citizens  at  large,  and  the  zeal  with  which  it  inspires 
me  so  to  conduct  myself  as  may  best  satisfy  their  just  ex- 
pectations. 

On  taking  this  station,  on  a former  occasion,  I declared 
the  principles  on  which  I believed  it  my  duty  to  administer 
the  affairs  of  our  commonwealth.  My  conscience  tells  me 
I have,  on  every  occasion,  acted  up  to  that  declaration,  ac- 
cording to  its  obvious  import,  and  to  the  understanding 
of  every  candid  mind. 

In  the  transaction  of  your  foreign  affairs,  we  have  endea- 
vored to  cultivate  the  friendship  of  all  nations,  and  espe- 
cially of  those  with  which  we  have  the  most  important  rela- 
tions. We  have  done  them  justice  on  all  occasions,  favor 
where  favor  was  lawful,  and  cherished  mutual  interests  and 
intercourse  on  fair  and  equal  terms.  We  are  firmly  con- 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  427 


vinced,  and  we  act  on  that  conviction,  that  with  nations  as 
with  individuals,  our  interest,  soundly  calculated,  will  ever 
be  found  inseparable  from  our  moral  duties ; and  history 
bears  witness  to  the  fact,  that  a just  nation  is  trusted  on  its 
word  when  recourse  is  had  to  armaments  and  wars  to  bridle 
others. 

At  home,  fellow-citizens,  you  best  know  whether  we  have 
done  well  or  ill.  The  suppression  of  unnecessary  offices,  of 
useless  establishments  and  expenses  enabled  us  to  discon- 
tinue our  internal  taxes.  These,  covering  our  land  with 
officers,  and  opening  our  doors  to  their  intrusions,  had 
already  begun  that  process  of  domiciliary  vexation  which, 
once  entered,  is  scarcely  to  be  restrained  from  reaching 
successively,  every  article  of  property  and  produce.  If, 
among  these  taxes,  some  minor  ones  fell,  which  had  not 
been  inconvenient,  it  was  because  their  amount  would  not 
have  paid  the  officers  who  collected  them,  and  because,  if 
they  had  any  merit,  the  State  authorities  might  adopt  them 
instead  of  others  less  approved. 

The  remaining  revenue,  on  the  consumption  of  foreign 
articles,  is  paid  chiefly  by  those  who  can  afford  to  add 
foreign  luxuries  to  domestic  comforts.  Being  collected  on 
our  seaboard  and  frontiers  only,  and  incorporated  with  the 
transactions  of  our  mercantile  citizens,  it  may  be  the  plea- 
sure and  the  pride  of  an  American  to  ask,  what  farmer, 
what  mechanic,  what  laborer,  ever  sees  a tax-gatherer  of  the 
United  States  ? These  contributions  enable  us  to  support 
the  current  expenses  of  the  government;  to  fulfil  contracts 
with  foreign  nations ; to  extinguish  the  native  right  of  soil 
within  our  limits;  to  extend  those  limits;  and  to  apply  such 
a surplus  to  our  public  debts  as  places  at  a short  day  their 
final  redemption  ; and  that  redemption  once  effected,  the 
revenue  thereby  liberated  may,  by  a just  repartition  of  it 
among  the  States,  and  a corresponding  amendment  of  the 
Constitution,  be  applied,  in  time  of  peace,  to  rivers,  canals, 


428  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADI  RESSE8. 

roads,  arts,  manufactures,  education,  and  other  great  ob- 
jects, within  each  State.  In  time  of  war,  if  injustice  by 
ourselves  or  others  must  sometimes  produce  war,  increased, 
as  the  same  revenue  will  be,  by  increased  population  and 
consumption,  and  aided  by  other  resources  reserved  for  that 
crisis,  it  may  meet,  within  the  year,  all  the  expenses  of  the 
year,  without  encroaching  on  the  rights  of  future  genera- 
tions, by  burdening  them  with  the  debts  of  the  past.  War 
will  then  be  but  a suspension  of  useful  works  ; and  a return 
to  a state  of  peace,  a return  to  the  progress  of  improve- 
ment. 

I have  said,  fellow-citizens,  that  the  income  reserved  had 
enabled  us  to  extend  our  limits;  but  that  extension  may 
possibly  pay  for  itself  before  we  are  called  on,  and,  in  the 
mean  time,  may  keep  down  the  accruing  interest ; in  all 
events,  it  will  replace  the  advances  we  shall  have  made.  I 
know  that  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana  has  been  disapproved 
by  some,  from  a candid  apprehension  that  the  enlargement 
of  our  territory  would  endanger  its  union.  But  who  can 
limit  the  extent  to  which  the  federative  principle  may 
operate  effectively  ? The  larger  our  associations,  the  less 
will  it  be  shaken  by  local  passions ; and,  in  any  view,  is  it 
not  better  that  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Mississippi  should 
be  settled  by  our  own  brethren  and  children  than  by  stran- 
gers of  another  family  ? With  which  should  we  be  most 
likely  to  live  in  harmony  and  friendly  intercourse  ? 

In  matters  of  religion,  I have  considered  that  its  free 
exercise  is  placed  by  the  Constitution  independent  of  the 
powers  of  the  general  government.  I have  therefore  under- 
taken, on  no  occasion,  to  prescribe  the  religious  exercises 
suited  to  it,  but  have  left  them,  as  the  Constitution  found 
them,  under  the  direction  and  discipline  of  the  church  or 
State  authorities  acknowledged  by  the  several  religious 
societies. 

The  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  these  countries  I have  r?- 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  429 

garded  with  the  commiseration  their  history  inspires.  En- 
dowed with  the  faculties  and  the  rights  of  men,  breathing 
an  ardent  love  of  liberty  and  independence,  and  occupying 
a country  which  left  them  no  desire  but  to  be  undisturbed, 
the  stream  of  overflowing  population  from  other  regions 
directed  itself  on  these  shores.  ' Without  power  to  divert, 
or  habits  to  contend  against  it,  they  have  been  overwhelmed 
by  the  current,  or  driven  before  it.  Now  reduced  within 
limits  too  narrow  for  the  hunter  state,  humanity  enjoins  us 
to  teach  them  agriculture  and  the  domestic  arts,  to  encourage 
them  to  that  industry  which  alone  can  enable  them  to  main- 
tain their  place  in  existence,  and  to  prepare  them,  in  time, 
for  that  state  of  society  which  to  bodily  comforts  adds  the 
improvement  of  the  mind  and  morals.  We  have,  therefore, 
liberally  furnished  them  with  the  implements  of  husbandry 
and  household  use  : we  have  placed  among  them  instructors 
in  the  arts  of  first  necessity ; and  they  are  covered  with  the 
mgis  of  the  law  against  aggressors  from  among  ourselves. 

But  the  endeavors  to  enlighten  them  on  the  fate  which 
awaits  their  present  course  of  life,  to  induce  them  to  exercise 
their  reason,  follow  its  dictates,  and  change  their  pursuits 
with  the  change  of  circumstances,  have  powerful  obstacles 
to  encounter.  They  are  combated  by  the  habits  of  their 
bodies,  prejudices  of  their  minds,  ignorauce,  pride,  and  the 
influence  of  interested  and  crafty  individuals  among  them, 
who  feel  themselves  something  in  the  present  order  of  things, 
and  fear  to  become  nothing  in  any  other.  These  persons 
inculcate  a sanctimonious  reverence  for  the  customs  of  their 
ancestors ; that  whatsoever  they  did  must  be  done  through 
all  time ; that  reason  is  a false  guide,  and  to  advance  under 
its  counsel  in  their  physical,  moral,  or  political  condition,  is 
perilous  innovation ; that  their  duty  is  to  remain  as  the 
Creator  made  them — ignorance  being  safety,  and  knowledge 
full  of  danger.  In  short,  my  friends,  among  them,  also,  is 
seen  the  action  and  counteraction  of  good  sense  and  of 


4:30  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

bigotry.  They,  too,  have  their  anti-philosophists,  who  find 
an  interest  in  keeping  things  in  their  present  state,  who 
dread  reformation,  and  exert  all  their  faculties  to  maintain 
the  ascendency  of  habit  over  the  duty  of  improving  our 
reason  and  obeying  its  mandates. 

In  giving  these  outliues,  I do  not  mean,  fellow-citizens, 
to  arrogate  to  myself  the  merit  of  the  measures : that  is 
due,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  reflecting  character  of  our 
citizens  at  large,  who,  by  the  weight  of  public  opinion, 
influence  and  strengthen  the  public  measures.  It  is  due  to 
the  sound  discretion  with  which  they  select  from  among 
themselves  those  to  whom  they  confide  the  legislative  duties. 
It  is  due  to  the  zeal  and  wisdom  of  the  characters  thus 
selected,  who  lay  the  foundations  of  public  happiness  in 
wholesome  laws,  the  execution  of  which  alone  remains  for 
others.  And  it  is  due  to  the  able  and  faithful  auxiliaries 
whose  patriotism  has  associated  them  with  me  in  the  execu- 
tive functions. 

During  this  course  of  administration,  and  in  order  to 
disturb  it,  the  artillery  of  the  press  has  been  leveled  against 
us,  charged  with  whatsoever  its  licentiousness  could  devise 
or  dare.  These  abuses  of  an  institution  so  important  to 
freedom  and  science  are  deeply  to  be  regretted,  inasmuch  as 
they  tend  to  lessen  its  usefulness  and  to  sap  its  safety. 
They  might,  indeed,  have  been  corrected  by  the  wholesome 
punishments  reserved  to  and  provided  by  the  laws  of  the 
several  States  against  falsehood  and  defamation  ; but  public 
duties,  more  urgent,  press  on  the  time  of  public  servants, 
and  the  offenders  have  therefore  been  left  to  find  their 
punishment  in  the  public  indignation. 

Nor  was  it  uninteresting  to  the  world,  that  an  experiment 
should  be  fairly  and  fully  made,  whether  freedom  of  dis- 
cussion, unaided  by  power,  is  not  sufficient  for  the  propaga- 
tion and  protection  of  truth?  Whether  a government, 
conducting  itself  in  the  true  spirit  of  its  constitution,  with 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  43? 


zeal  and  purity,  and  doing  no  act  which  it  would  be  nmvil- 
ling  the  whole  world  should  witness,  can  be  written  down 
by  falsehood  and  defamation  ? The  experiment  has  been 
tried.  You  hare  witnessed  the  scene.  Our  fellow-citizens 
looked  on  cool  and  collected.  They  saw  the  latent  source 
from  which  these  outrages  proceeded.  They  gathered 
around  their  public  functionaries ; and,  when  the  Constitu- 
tion called  them  to  the  decision  by  suffrage,  they  pronounced 
their  verdict  honorable  to  those  who  had  served  them,  and 
consolatory  to  the  friend  of  man,  who  believes  that  he  may 
be  trusted  with  the  control  of  his  own  affairs. 

No  inference  is  here  intended  that  the  laws  provided  by 
the  States  against  false  and  defamatory  publications  should 
not  be  enforced.  He  who  has  time,  renders  a service  to 
public  morals  and  public  tranquillity  in  reforming  these 
abuses  by  the  salutary  coercions  of  the  law.  But  the 
experiment  is  noted  to  prove  that,  since  truth  and  reason 
have  maintained  their  ground  against  false  opinions,  in 
league  with  false  facts,  the  press,  confined  to  truth,  needs 
no  other  legal  restraint.  The  public  judgment  will  correct 
false  reasonings  and  opinions,  on  a full  hearing  of  all  par- 
ties ; and  no  other  definite  line  can  be  drawn  between  the 
inestimable  liberty  of  the  press  and  its  demoralizing  licen- 
tiousness. If  there  be  still  improprieties  which  this  rule 
would  not  restrain,  its  supplement  must  be  sought  in  the 
censorship  of  public  opinion. 

Contemplating  the  union  of  sentiment  now  manifested  so 
generally,  as  auguring  harmony  and  happiness  to  our  future 
course,  I offer  to  our  country  sincere  congratulations.  With 
those,  too,  not  yet  rallied  to  the  same  point,  the  disposition 
to  do  so  is  gaining  strength.  Facts  are  piercing  through 
the  veil  drawn  over  them  ; and  our  doubting  brethren  will 
at  length  see  that  the  mass  of  their  fellow-citizens,  with 
whom  they  cannot  yet  resolve  to  act,  as  to  principles  and 
measures,  think  as  they  think,  and  desire  what  they  desire ; 


432  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

that  our  wish,  as  well  as  theirs,  is,  that  the  public  efforts 
may  be  directed  honestly  to  the  public  good,  that  peace  be 
cultivated,  civil  and  religious  liberty  unassailed,  law  and 
order  preserved,  equality  of  rights  maintained,  and  that 
state  of  property,  equal  or  unequal,  which  results  to  every 
man  from  his  own  industry  or  that  of  his  father’s.  When 
satisfied  of  these  views,  it  is  not  in  human  nature  that  they 
should  not  approve  and  support  them.  In  the  mean  time, 
let  us  cherish  them  with  patient  affection ; let  us  do 
them  justice,  and  more  than  justice,  in  all  competitions 
of  interest — and  we  nfeed  not  doubt  that  truth,  reason, 
and  their  own  interests,  will  at  length  prevail — will  gather 
them  into  the  fold  of  their  country,  and  will  complete  that 
entire  union  of  opinion  which  gives  to  a nation  the  blessing 
of  harmony,  and  the  benefit  of  all  its  strength. 

I shall  now  enter  on  the  duties  to  which  my  fellow- 
citizens  have  again  called  me,  and  shall  proceed  in  the 
spirit  of  those  principles  which  they  have  approved.  1 fear 
not  that  any  motives  of  interest  may  lead  me  astray.  I am 
sensible  of  no  passion  which  could  seduce  me,  knowingly, 
from  the  path  of  justice  ; but  the  weaknesses  of  human  na- 
ture, and  the  limits  of  my  own  understanding,  will  produce 
errors  of  judgment  sometimes  injurious  to  your  interests. 
I shall  need,  therefore,  all  the  indulgence  which  I have 
heretofore  experienced  from  my  constituents.  The  want 
of  it  will  certainly  not  lessen  with  increasing  years.  I shall 
need,  too,  the  favor  of  that  Being  in  whose  hands  we  are ; 
who  led  our  fathers,  as  Israel  of  old,  from  their  native  land, 
and  planted  them  in  a country  flowing  with  all  the  necessa- 
ries and  comforts  of  life  ; who  has  covered  our  infancy  with 
his  providence,  and  our  riper  years  with  his  wisdom  and 
power ; and  to  whose  goodness  I ask  you  to  join  in  suppli- 
cations with  me,  that  he  will  so  enlighten  the  minds  of  your 
servants,  guide  their  councils,  and  prosper  their  measures, 
that  whatsoever  they  do  shall  result  in  your  good,  and  shall 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  433 

secure  to  you  the  peace,  friendship,  and  approbation  of 
all  nations. 

INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  OP  JAMES  MADISON,  PRESI- 
DENT OP  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

At  his  First  Term  of  Office,  March  4,  1809. 

' Gentlemen  of  the  Senate, 

and  of  the  House  of  Representatives : 

Unwilling  to  depart  from  examples  of  the  most  revered 
authority,  I avail  myself  of  the  occasion  now  presented,  to 
express  the  profound  impression  made  on  me,  by  the  call 
of  my  country,  to  the  station,  to  the  duties  of  which  I am 
about  to  pledge  myself,  by  the  most  solemn  of  sanctions. 
So  distinguished  a mark  of  confidence,  proceeding  from  the 
deliberate  and  tranquil  suffrage  of  a free  and  virtuous  na- 
tion, wonld,  under  any  circumstances,  have  commanded  my 
gratitude  and  devotion,  as  well  as  filled  me  with  an  awful 
sense  of  the  trust  to  be  assumed.  Under  the  various  cir- 
cumstances which  give  peculiar  solemnity  to  the  existing 
period,  I feel  that  both  the  honor  and  the  responsibility 
allotted  to  me,  are  inexpressibly  enhanced. 

The  present  situation  of  the  world  is,  indeed,  without  a 
parallel ; and  that  of  our  country  full  of  difficulties.  The 
pressure  of  these  two  is  the  more  severely  felt,  because  they 
have  fallen  upon  us  at  a moment  when  national  prosperity, 
being  at  a height  not  before  attained,  the  contrast  resulting 
from  this  change  has  been  rendered  the  more  striking. 
Under  the  benign  influence  of  our  republican  institutions, 
and  the  maintenance  of  peace  with  all  nations,  whilst  so 
many  of  them  were  engaged  in  bloody  and  wasteful  wars, 
the  fruits  of  a just  policy  were  enjoyed  in  an  unrivaled 
growth  of  our  faculties  and  resources.  Proofs  of  this  were 
sjen  in  the  improvements  of  agriculture ; in  the  successful 
enterprises  of  commerce  ; in  the  progress  of  manufactures 
and  useful  arts ; in  the  increase  of  the  public  revenue,  and 
28 


434  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

the  use  made  of  it  in  reducing  the  public  debt;  and  in  the 
valuable  works  and  establishments  everywhere  multiplying 
over  the  face  of  our  land. 

It  is  a precious  reflection,  that  the  transition  from  this 
prosperous  condition  of  our  country,  to  the  scene  which  has 
for  some  time  been  distressing  us,  is  not  chargeable  on  any 
unwarrantable  views,  nor,  as  I trust,  on  any  involuntary 
errors  in  the  public  councils.  Indulging  no  passions  which 
trespass  on  the  rights  or  the  repose  of  other  nations,  it  has 
been  the  true  glory  of  the  United  States  to  cultivate  peace, 
by  observing  justice,  and  to  entitle  themselves  to  the  respect 
of  the  nations  at  war,  by  fulfilling  their  neutral  obligations 
with  the  most  scrupulous  impartiality.  If  there  be  candor 
in  the  world,  the  truth  of  these  assertions  will  not  be  ques- 
tioned. Posterity,  at  least,  will  do  justice  to  them. 

This  unexceptionable  course  could  not  avail  against  the 
injustice  and  violence  of  the  belligerent  powers.  In  their 
rage  against  each  other,  or  impelled  by  more  direct  motives, 
principles  of  retaliation  have  been  introduced,  equally  con- 
trary to  universal  reason  and  acknowledged  law.  How 
long  their  arbitrary  edicts  will  be  continued,  in  spite  of  the 
demonstrations  that  not  even  a pretext  for  them  has  been 
given  by  the  United  States,  and  of  the  fair  and  liberal 
attempts  to  induce  a revocation  of  them,  cannot  be  antici- 
pated. Assuring  myself  that,  under  every  vicissitude,  the 
determined  spirit  and  united  councils  of  the  nation  will  be 
safeguards  to  its  honor  and  its  essential  interests,  I repair 
to  the  post  assigned  me,  with  no  other  discouragement  than 
what  springs  from  my  own  inadequacy  to  its  high  duties 
If  I do  not  sink  under  the  weight  of  this  deep  conviction, 
it  is  because  I find  some  support  in  a consciousness  of  the 
purposes,  and  a confidence  in  the  principles  which  I bring 
with  me  into  this  arduous  service. 

To  cherish  peace  and  friendly  intercourse  with  all  na- 
tions, having  correspondent  dispositions ; to  maintain  sin- 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  435 

cere  neutrality  towards  belligerent  nations ; to  prefer,  in  all 
cases,  amicable  discussion  and  reasonable  accommodation 
of  differences,  to  a decision  of  them  by  an  appeal  to  arms ; 
to  exclude  foreign  intrigues  and  foreign  partialities,  so  de- 
grading to  all  countries,  and  so  baneful  to  free  ones ; to 
foster  a spirit  of  independence ; too  just  to  invade  the 
rights  of  others ; too  proud  to  surrender  our  own  ; too 
liberal  to  indulge  unworthy  prejudices  ourselves,  and  too 
elevated  not  to  look  down  upon  them  in  others ; to  hold 
the  union  of  the  States  as  the  basis  of  their  peace  and  hap- 
piness ; to  support  the  Constitution,  which  is  the  cement 
of  the  Union,  as  well  in  its  limitations  as  in  its  authorities; 
to  respect  the  rights  and  authorities  reserved  to  the  States 
and  to  the  people,  as  equally  incorporated  with,  and  essen- 
tial to  the  success  of  the  general  system  ; to  avoid  the 
slightest  interference  with  the  rights  of  conscience,  or  the 
functions  of  religion,  so  wisely  exempted  from  civil  juris- 
diction ; to  preserve,  to  their  full  energy,  the  other  salutary 
provisions  in  behalf  of  private  and  personal  rights,  and  of 
the  freedom  of  the  press  ; to  observe  economy  in  public  ex- 
penditures ; to  liberate  the  public  resources  by  an  honora- 
ble discharge  of  the  public  debts  ; to  keep  within  the  re- 
quisite limits  a standing  military  force,  always  remembering 
that  an  armed  and  trained  militia  is  the  firmest  bulwark  of 
republics  ; that  without  standing  armies  their  liberty  can 
never  be  in  danger,  nor,  with  large  ones,  safe  ; to  promote, 
by  authorized  means,  improvements  friendly  to  agriculture, 
to  manufactures,  and  to  external  as  well  as  internal  com- 
merce ; to  favor,  in  like  manner,  the  advancement  of  science 
and  the  diffusion  of  information,  as  the  best  aliment  to  true 
liberty ; to  carry  on  the  benevolent  plans  which  have  been 
so  meritoriously  applied  to  the  conversion  of  our  aboriginal 
neighbors,  from  the  degradation  and  wretchedness  of  savage 
life,  to  a participation  of  the  improvements  of  which  the 
human  mind  and  manners  are  susceptible  in  a civilized 


436  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


state : as  far  as  sentiments  and  intentions  such  as  these  can 
aid  the  fulfilment  of  my  duty,  they  will  be  a resource  which 
cannot  fail  me. 

It  is  my  good  fortune,  moreover,  to  have  the  path  in 
which  I am  to  tread,  lighted  by  examples  of  illustrious  ser- 
vices, successfully  rendered  in  the  most  trying  difficulties,  by 
those  who  have  marched  before  me.  Of  those  of  my  imme- 
diate predecessor,  it  might  least  become  me  here  to  speak — 
I may,  however,  be  pardoned  for  not  suppressing  the  sympa- 
thy with  which  my  heart  is  full,  in  the  rich  reward  he  enjoys 
in  the  benedictions  of  a beloved  country,  gratefully  be- 
stowed for  exalted  talents,  zealously  devoted  through  a long 
career  to  the  advancement  of  its  highest  interest  and  happi- 
ness. But  the  source  to  which  I look  for  the  aids  which 
alone  can  supply  my  deficiencies,  is  in  the  well-tried  intelli- 
gence and  virtue  of  my  fellow-citizens,  and  in  the  councils 
of  those  representing  them  in  the  other  departments  associ- 
ated in  the  care  of  the  national  interests.  In  these  my  con- 
fidence will,  under  every  difficulty,  be  best  placed  ; next  to 
that  which  we  have  all  been  encouraged  to  feel  in  the  guar- 
dianship and  guidance  of  that  Almighty  Being,  whose 
power  regulates  the  destiny  of  nations,  whose  blessings  have 
been  so  conspicuously  dispensed  to  this  rising  Republic, 
and  to  whom  we  are  bound  to  address  our  devout  gratitude 
for  the  past,  as  well  as  our  fervent  supplications  and  best 
hopes  for  the  future. 

FAREWELL  ADDRESS  OF  GEORGE  WASHINGTON, 
PRESIDENT,  TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 

September  17,  1796. 

Friends  and  Fellow-citizens: 

The  period  for  a new  election  of  a citizen  to  administer 
the  executive  government  of  the  United  States  being  not 
far  distant,  and  the  time  actually  arrived  when  your  thoughts 
must  be  employed  in  designating  the  person  who  is  to  be 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  437 

clothed  with  that  important  trust,  it  appears  to  me  proper, 
especially  as  it  may  conduce  to  a more  distinct  expression 
of  the  public  voice,  that  I should  now  apprise  you  of  the 
resolution  I have  formed,  to  decline  being  considered  among 
the  number  of  those  out  of  whom  a choice  is  to  be  made. 

I beg  you  at  the  same  time,  to  do  me  the  justice  to  be 
assured  that  this  resolution  has  not  been  taken  without  a 
strict  regard  to  all  the  considerations  appertaining  to  the 
relation  which  binds  a dutiful  citizen  to  his  country  ; and 
that,  in  withdrawing  the  tender  of  service  which  silence,  in 
my  situation,  might  imply,  I am  influenced  by  no  diminu- 
tion of  zeal  for  your  future  interests,  no  deficiency  of  grate- 
ful respect  for  your  past  kindness,  but  am  supported  by  a 
full  conviction  that  the  step  is  compatible  with  both. 

The  acceptance  of,  and  continuance  hitherto  in,  the  office 
to  which  your  suffrages  have  twice  called  me,  have  been  a 
uniform  sacrifice  of  inclination  to  the  opinion  of  duty,  and 
to  a deference  for  what  appeared  to  be  your  desire.  I con- 
stantly hoped  that  it  would  have  been  much  earlier  in  my 
power,  consistently  with  motives  which  I was  not  at  liberty 
to  disregard,  to  return  to  that  retirement  from  which  I have 
been  reluctantly  drawn.  The  strength  of  my  inclination  to 
do  this,  previous  to  the  last  election,  had  even  led  to  the 
preparation  of  an  address  to  declare  it  to  you  ; but  mature 
reflection  on  the  then  perplexed  and  critical  posture  of  out* 
affairs  with  foreign  nations,  and  the  unanimous  advice  of 
persons  entitled  to  my  confidence,  impelled  me  to  abandon 
the  idea. 

I rejoice  that  the  state  of  your  concerns,  external  as  well 
as  internal,  no  longer  renders  the  pursuit  of  inclination  in- 
compatible with  the  sentiment  of  duty  or  propriety ; and 
am  persuaded,  whatever  partiality  may  be  retained  for  my 
services,  that,  in  the  present  circumstances  of  our  country, 
you  will  not  disapprove  my  determination  to  retire. 

The  impressions  with  which  I first  undertook  the  arduous 


138  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


trust  were  explained  on  the  proper  occasion.  In  the  dis- 
charge of  this  trust,  I will  only  say,  that  I have  with  good 
intentions  contributed  towards  the  organization  and  admin- 
istration of  the  government  the  best  exertions  of  which  a 
very  fallible  judgment  was  capable.  Not  unconscious  in 
the  outset  of  the  inferiority  of  my  qualifications,  experience, 
in  my  own  eyes — perhaps  still  more  in  the  eyes  of  others — - 
has  strengthened  the  motives  to  diffidence  of  myself ; and 
every  day  the  increasing  weight  of  years  admonishes  me, 
more  and  more,  that  the  shade  of  retirement  is  as  necessary 
to  me  as  it  will  be  welcome.  Satisfied  that  if  any  circum- 
stances have  given  peculiar  value  to  my  services,  they  were 
temporary,  I have  the  consolation  to  believe,  that  while 
choice  and  prudence  invite  me  to  quit  the  political  scene, 
patriotism  does  not  forbid  it. 

In  looking  forward  to  the  moment  which  is  intended  to  ter- 
minate the  career  of  my  public  life,  my  feelings  do  not  permit 
me  to  suspend  the  deep  acknowledgment  of  that  debt  of  grati- 
tude which  I owe  to  my  beloved  country  for  the  many  honors 
it  has  conferred  upon  me  ; still  more  for  the  steadfast  confi- 
dence with  which  it  has  supported  me;  and  for  the  opportuni- 
ties I have  thence  enjoyed  of  manifesting  my  inviolable  attach- 
ment, by  services  faithful  and  persevering,  though  in  useful- 
ness unequal  to  my  zeal.  If  benefits  have  resulted  to  our 
country  from  these  services,  let  it  always  be  remembered  to 
your  praise,  and  as  an  instructive  example  in  our  annals, 
that,  under  circumstances  in  which  the  passions,  agitated  in 
every  direction,  were  liable  to  mislead ; amidst  appearances 
sometimes  dubious,  vicissitudes  of  fortune  often  discou- 
raging ; in  situations  in  which,  not  unfrequently,  want  of 
success  has  countenanced  the  spirit  of  criticism — the  con- 
stancy of  your  support  was  the  essential  prop  of  the  efforts, 
and  a guarantee  of  the  plans,  by  which  they  were  effected. 
Profoundly  penetrated  with  this  idea,  I shall  carry  it  with 
me  to  my  grave,  as  a strong  incitement  to  unceasing  vows, 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  439 

that  Heaven  may  continue  to  you  the  choicest  tokens  of  its 
beneficence ; that  your  union  and  brotherly  affection  may 
be  perpetual ; that  the  free  Constitution,  which  is  the  work 
of  your  hands,  may  be  sacredly  maintained ; that  its  admin- 
istration, in  every  department,  maybe  stamped  with  wisdom 
and  virtue  ; that,  in  fine,  the  happiness  of  the  people  of  these 
States,  under  the  auspices  of  liberty,  maybe  made  complete, 
by  so  careful  a preservation  and  so  prudent  a use  of  this 
blessing  as  will  acquire  to  them  the  glory  of  recommending 
it  to  the  applause,  the  affection,  and  the  adoption  of  every 
nation  which  is  yet  a stranger  to  it. 

Here,. perhaps,  I ought  to  stop ; but  a solicitude  for  your 
welfare,  which  cannot  end  but  with  my  life,  and  the  appre- 
hension of  danger  natural  to  that  solicitude,  urge  me,  on  an 
occasion  like  the  present,  to  offer  to  your  solemn  contempla- 
tion, and  to  recommend  to  your  frequent  review,  some  sen- 
timents, which  are  the  result  of  much  reflection,  of  no  in- 
considerable observation,  and  which  appear  to  me  all-im- 
portant to  the  permanency  of  your  felicity  as  a people. 
These  will  be  afforded  to  you  with  the  more  freedom,  as  you 
can  only  see  in  them  the  disinterested  warnings  of  a parting 
friend,  who  can  possibly  have  no  personal  motive  to  bias  his 
counsel ; nor  can  I forget,  as  an  encouragement  to  it,  your 
indulgent  reception  of  my  sentiments  on  a former  and  not 
dissimilar  occasion. 

Interwoven  as  is  the  love  of  liberty  with  every  ligament 
of  your  hearts,  no  recommendation  of  mine  is  necessary  to 
fortify  or  confirm  the  attachment. 

The  unity  of  government,  which  constitutes  you  one 
people,  is  also  now  dear  to  you.  It  is  justly  so  ; for  it  is  a 
main  pillar  in  the  edifice  of  your  real  independence — the 
support  of  your  tranquillity  at  home,  your  peace  abroad,  of 
your  safety,  of  your  prosperity,  of  that  very  liberty  which 
you  so  highly  prize.  But  as  it  is  easy  to  foresee,  that  from 
different  causes  and  from  different  quarters,  much  pains  will 


440  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

be  taken,  many  artifices  employed,  to  weaken  in  your  minds 
the  conviction  of  this  truth  ; as  this  is  the  point  in  your  po- 
litical fortress  against  which  the  batteries  of  internal  and 
external  enemies  will  be  most  confidently  and  actively 
(though  often  covertly  and  insidiously)  directed' — it  is  of 
infinite  moment  that  you  should  properly  estimate  the  im- 
mense value  of  your  national  union  to  your  collective  and 
individual  happiness  ; that  you  should  cherish  a cordial, 
habitual,  and  immovable  attachment  to  it ; accustoming 
yourselves  to  think  and  speak  of  it  as  of  the  palladium  of 
your  political  safety  and  prosperity ; watching  for  its  pre- 
servation with  jealous  anxiety  ; discountenancing  whatever 
may  suggest  even  a suspicion  that  it  can,  in  any  event,  be 
abandoned  ; and  indignantly  frowning  upon  the  first  dawn- 
ing of  every  attempt  to  alienate  any  portion  of  our  country 
from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  now  link 
together  the  various  parts. 

For  this  you  have  every  inducement  of  sympathy  and  in- 
terest. Citizens  by  birth  or  choice,  of  a common  country, 
that  country  has  a right  to  concentrate  your  affections.  The 
.name  of  American,  which  belongs  to  you  in  your  national 
capacity,  must  always  exalt  the  just  pride  of  patriotism, 
more  than  any  appellation  derived  from  local  discriminations. 
With  slight  shades  of  difference,  you  have  the  same  religion, 
manners,  habits,  and  political  principles.  You  have,  in  a 
common  cause,  fought  and  triumphed  together;  the  inde- 
pendence and  liberty  you  possess  are  the  work  of  joint  coun- 
sels and  joint  efforts,  of  common  dangers,  sufferings,  and 
successes. 

But  these  considerations,  however  powerfully  they  address 
themselves  to  your  sensibility,  are  greatly  outweighed  by 
those  which  apply  more  immediately  to  your  interest;  here 
every  portion  of  our  country  finds  the  most  commanding  mo- 
tives for  carefully  guarding  and  preserving  the  union  of  the 
whole. 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  441 


The  North,  in  an  unrestrained  intercourse  w:th  the  South, 
protected  by  the  equal  laws  of  a common  government,  finds, 
in  the  productions  of  the  latter,  great  additional  resources 
of  maritime  and  commercial  enterprise,  and  precious  mate- 
rials of  manufacturing  industry.  The  South,  in  the  same 
intercourse,  benefiting  by  the  agency  of  the  North,  sees  its 
agriculture  grow,  and  its  commerce  expand.  Turning  partly 
into  its  own  channels  the  seamen  of  the  North,  it  finds  its 
particular  navigation  invigorated  ; and  while  it  contributes, 
in  different  ways,  to  nourish  and  increase  the  general  mass 
of  national  navigation,  it  looks  forward  to  the  protection  of 
a maritime  strength  to  which  itself  is  unequally  adapted. 
The  East,  in  like  intercourse  with  the  West,  already  finds, 
and  in  the  progressive  improvement  of  interior  communica- 
tion. by  land  and  water,  will  more  and  more  find,  a valuable 
vent  for  the  commodities  which  it  brings  from  abroad,  or 
manufactures  at  home.  The  West  derives  from  the  East 
supplies  requisite  to  its  growth  and  comfort ; and  what  is 
perhaps  of  still  greater  consequence,  it  must,  of  necessity, 
owe  the  secure  enjoyment  of  indispensable  outlets  for  its  own 
productions,  to  the  weight,  influence,  and  the  future  mari- 
time strength  of  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  Union,  directed  by 
an  indissoluble  community  of  interest  as  one  nation.  Any 
other  tenure  by  which  the  West  can  hold  this  essential  ad- 
vantage, whether  derived  from  its  own  separate  strength, 
or  from  an  apostate  and  unnatural  connection  with  any 
foreign  power,  must  be  intrinsically  precarious. 

While,  then,  every  part  of  our  country  thus  feels  an  imme- 
diate and  particular  interest  in  union,  all  the  parts  combined 
cannot  fail  to  find,  in  the  united  mass  of  means  and  efforts, 
greater  strength,  greater  resource,  proportionably  greater 
security  from  external  danger,  a less  frequent  interruption 
of  their  peace  by  foreign  nations  ; and  what  is  of  inestimable 
value,  they  must  derive  from  union  an  exemption  from  those 
broils  and  wars  between  themselves,  which  so  frequently 


442  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


afflict  neighboring  countries,  not  tied  together  by  the  same 
government;  which  their  own  rivalships  alone  would  be 
sufficient  to  produce,  but  which  opposite  foreign  alliances, 
attachments,  and  intrigues,  would  stimulate  and  i inbitter 
Hence,  likewise,  they  will  avoid  the  necessity  of  those  over- 
grown military  establishments,  which,  under  any  form  of 
government,  are  inauspicious  to  liberty,  and  which  are  to 
be  regarded  as  particularly  hostile  to  republican  liberty ; in 
this  sense  it  is  that  your  union  ought  to  be  considered  as  a 
main  prop  of  your  liberty,  and  that  the  love  of  one  ought  to 
endear  to  you  the  preservation  of  the  other. 

These  considerations  speak  a persuasive  language  to 
every  reflecting  and  virtuous  mind,  and  exhibit  the  continu- 
ance of  the  Union  as  a primary  object  of  patriotic  desire. 
Is  there  a doubt,  whether  a common  government  can  embrace 
so  large  a sphere  ? Let  experience  solve  it.  To  listen  to 
mere  speculation,  in  such  a case,  were  criminal.  We  are 
authorized  to  hope,  that  a proper  organization  of  the  whole, 
with  the  auxiliary  agency  of  governments  for  the  respective 
subdivisions,  will  afford  a happy  issue  to  the  experiment. 
It  is  well  worth  a fair  and  full  experiment.  With  such 
powerful  and  obvious  motives  to  Union,  affecting  all  parts 
of  our  country,  while  experience  shall  not  have  demonstrated 
its  impracticability,  there  will  always  be  reason  to  distrust 
the  patriotism  of  those,  who,  in  any  quarter,  may  endeavor 
to  weaken  its  bands. 

In  contemplating  the  causes  which  may  disturb  our  Union, 
it  occurs,  as  a matter  of  serious  concern,  that  any  ground 
should  have  been  furnished  for  characterizing  parties  by 
geographical  discriminations — Northern  and  Southern — 
Atlantic  and  Western  : whence  designing  men  may  endeavor 
to  excite  a belief  that  there  is  a real  difference  of  local  in- 
terests and  views.  One  of  the  expedients  of  party  to  acquire 
influence  within  particular  districts,  is  to  misrepresent  the 
opinions  and  aims  of  other  districts.  You  cannot  shield 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  443 


yourselves  too  much  against  the  jealousies  and  heart-burn- 
ings which  spring  from  these  misrepresentations ; they  tend 
to  render  alien  to  each  other  those  who  ought  to  be  bound 
together  by  fraternal  affection.  The  inhabitants  of  our 
western  country  have  lately  had  a useful  lesson  on  this 
head  ; they  have  seen  in  the  negotiation  by  the  Executive, 
and  in  the  unanimous  ratification  by  the  Senate,  of  the 
treaty  with  Spain,  and  in  the  universal  satisfaction  at  that 
event  throughout  the  United  States,  a decisive  proof  how 
unfounded  were  the  suspicions  propagated  among  them,  of 
a policy  in  the  general  government,  and  in  the  Atlantic 
States,  unfriendly  to  their  interests  in  regard  to  the  Missis- 
sippi : they  have  been  witnesses  to  the  formation  of  two 
treaties — that  with  Great  Britain,  and  that  with  Spain, 
which  secures  to  them  everything  they  could  desire  in  re- 
spect to  our  foreign  relations,  towards  confirming  their 
prosperity.  Will  it  not  be  their  wisdom  to  rely  for  the  pre- 
servation of  these  advantages  on  the  Union  by  which  they 
were  procured  ? Will  they  not  henceforth  be  deaf  to  those 
advisers,  if  such  there  are,  who  would  sever  them  from  their 
brethren,  and  connect  them  with  aliens  ? 

To  the  efficacy  and  permanency  of  your  Union,  a gov- 
ernment for  the  whole  is  indispensable.  No  alliance,  how- 
ever strict,  between  the  parts,  can  be  an  adequate  substitute  ; 
they  must  inevitably  experience  the  infractions  and  inter- 
ruptions which  all  alliances,  in  all  time,  have  experienced. 
Sensible  of  this  momentous  truth,  you  have  improved  upon 
your  first  essay,  by  the  adoption  of  a Constitution  of  gov- 
ernment better  calculated  than  your  former  for  an  intimate 
Union,  and  for  the  efficacious  management  of  your  common 
concerns.  This  government,  the  offspring  of  our  own 
choice,  uninfluenced  and  unawed,  adopted  upon  full  inves- 
tigation and  mature  deliberation,  completely  free  in  its 
principles,  in  the  distribution  of  its  powers,  uniting  security 
with  energy,  an  1 containing  within  itself  a provision  for  its 


444  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

own  amendment,  has  a just  claim  to  your  confidence  and 
your  support  Respect  for  its  authority,  compliance  with 
its  laws,  acquiescence  in  its  measures,  are  duties  enjoined 
by  the  fundamental  maxims  of  true  liberty.  The  basis  of 
our  political  systems,  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  make  and 
to  alter  their  constitutions  of  government;  but  the  Consti- 
tution, which  at  any  time  exists,  till  changed  by  an  explicit 
and  authentic  act  of  the  whole  people,  is  sacredly  obligatory 
upou  all.  The  very  idea  of  the  power  and  the  right  of  the 
people  to  establish  government,  presupposes  the  duty  of 
every  individual  to  obey  the  established  government. 

All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the  laws,  all  combi- 
nations and  associations,  under  whatever  plausible  charac- 
ter, with  the  real  design  to  direct,  control,  counteract  or 
awe  the  regular  deliberation  and  action  of  the  constituted 
authorities,  are  destructive  to  this  fundamental  principle, 
and  of  fatal  tendency.  They  serve  to  organize  faction,  to 
give  it  an  artificial  and  extraordinary  force,  to  put,  in  the 
place  of  the  delegated  will  of  the  nation,  the  will  of  a 
party,  often  a small  but  artful  and  enterprising  minority  of 
the  community  ; and,  according  to  the  alternate  triumphs 
of  different  parties,  to  make  the  public  administration  the 
mirror  of  the  ill-concerted  and  incongruous  projects  of 
faction,  rather  than  the  organ  of  consistent  and  wholesome 
plans,  digested  by  common  counsels,  and  modified  by  mu- 
tual interests. 

However  combinations  or  associations  of  the  above  de- 
scription may  now  and  then  answer  popular  ends,  they  are 
likely,  in  the  course  of  time  and  things,  to  become  potent 
engines  by  which  cunning,  ambitious,  and  unprincipled  men 
will  be  enabled  to  subvert  the  power  of  the  people,  and  to 
usurp  for  themselves  the  reins  of  government ; destroying, 
afterwards,  the  very  engines  which  had  lifted  them  to  unjust 
dominion. 

Towards  the  preservation  of  your  government,  and  the 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  445 


permanency  of  your  present  happy  state,  it  is  reqnisite,  not 
only  that  you  steadily  discountenance  irregular  oppositions 
to  its  acknowledged  authority,  but  also  that  you  resist  with 
care  the  spirit  of  innovation  upon  its  principles,  however 
specious  the  pretexts.  One  method  of  assault  may  be  to 
effect,  in  the  forms  of  the  Constitution,  alterations  which 
will  impair  the  energy  of  the  system,  and  thus  to  under- 
mine what  cannot  be  directly  overthrown.  In  all  the 
changes  to  which  you  may  be  invited,  remember  that  time 
and  habit  are  at  least  as  necessary  to  fix  the  true  character 
of  governments,  as  of  other  human  institutions ; that  ex- 
perience is  the  surest  standard  by  which  to  test  the  real  ten- 
dency of  the  existing  Constitution  of  a country  ; that  fa- 
cility in  changes,  upon  the  credit  of  mere  hypothesis  and 
opinion,  exposes  to  perpetual  change,  from  the  endless  va- 
riety of  hypothesis  and  opinion  ; and  remember,  especially, 
that  for  the  efficient  management  of  your  common  interests, 
in  a country  so  extensive  as  ours,  a government  of  as  much 
vigor  as  is  consistent  with  the  perfect  security  of  liberty, 
is  indispensable.  Liberty  itself  will  find  in  such  a govern- 
ment, with  powers  properly  distributed  and  adjusted,  its 
surest  guardian.  It  is,  indeed,  little  else  than  a name, 
where  the  government  is  too  feeble  to  withstand  the  en- 
terprises of  faction,  to  confine  each  member  of  the  society 
within  the  limits  prescribed  by  the  laws,  and  to  maintain  all 
in  the  secure  and  tranquil  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  person 
and  property. 

I have  already  intimated  to  you  the  danger  of  parties  in 
the  State,  with  particular  reference  to  the  founding  of  them 
on  geographical  discriminations.  Let  me  now  take  a more 
comprehensive  view,  and  warn  you,  in  the  most  solemn 
manner,  against  the  baneful  effects  of  the  spirit  of  party 
generally. 

This  spirit,  unfortunately,  is  inseparable  from  our  nature, 
having  its  root  in  the  strongest  passions  of  the  human  mind. 


446  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

It  exists  under  different  shapes,  in  all  governments,  more  or 
less  stifled,  controlled,  or  repressed ; but  in  those  of  the 
popular  form  it  is  seen  in  its  greatest  rankness,  and  is  truly 
their  worst  enemy. 

The  alternate  domination  of  one  faction  over  another, 
sharpened  by  the  spirit  of  revenge,  natural  to  party  dissen- 
sion, which,  in  different  ages  and  countries,  has  perpetrated 
the  most  horrid  enormities,  is  itself  a frightful  despotism. 
But  this  leads,  at  length,  to  a more  formal  and  permanent 
despotism.  The  disorders  and  miseries  which  result,  gradu- 
ally incline  the  minds  of  men  to  seek  security  and  repose  in 
the  absolute  power  of  an  individual ; and,  sooner  or  later 
the  chief  of  some  prevailing  faction,  more  able  or  more 
fortunate  than  his  competitors,  turns  this  disposition  to  the 
purposes  of  his  own  elevation  on  the  ruins  of  public  liberty. 

Without  looking  forward,  to  an  extremity  of  this  kind, 
(which,  nevertheless,  ought  not  to  be  entirely  out  of  sight,) 
the  common  and  continual  mischiefs  of  the  spirit  of  party 
are  sufficient  to  make  it  the  interest  and  duty  of  a wise 
people  to  discourage  and  restrain  it. 

It  tends  always  to  distract  the  public  councils,  and  enfeeble 
the  public  administration.  It  agitates  the  commmunity 
with  ill-founded  jealousies  and  false  alarms ; kindles  the 
animosity  of  one  part  against  another ; foments,  occasion- 
ally, riot  and  insurrection.  It  opens  the  door  to  foreign 
influence  and  corruption,  which  find  a facilitated  access  to 
the  government  itself,  through  the  channels  of  party  pas- 
sions. Thus  the  policy  and  the  will  of  one  country  are  sub- 
jected to  the  policy  and  will  of  another. 

There  is  an  opinion  that  parties,  in  free  countries,  are 
useful  checks  upon  the  administration  of  the  government, 
and  serve  to  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  liberty.  This,  within 
certain  limits,  is  probably  true;  and  in  governments  of  a 
monarchical  cast,  patriotism  may  look  with  indulgence,  if 
not  with  favor,  upon  the  spirit  of  party.  But  in  those  of 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  447 

the  popular  character,  in  governments  purely  elective,  it  is  a 
spirit  not  to  be  encouraged.  From  their  natural  tendency, 
it  is  certain  there  will  always  be  enough  of  that  spirit  for 
every  salutary  purpose.  And  there  being  constant  danger 
of  excess,  the  effort  ought  to  be,  by  force  of  public  opinion, 
to  mitigate  and  assuage  it.  A fire  not  to  be  quenched,  it 
demands  a uniform  vigilance  to  prevent  its  bursting  into  a 
flame,  lest,  instead  of  warming,  it  should  consume. 

It  is  important,  likewise,  that  the  habits  of  thinking,  in  a 
free  country,  should  inspire  caution  in  those  intrusted  with 
its  administration,  to  confine  themselves  within  their  respec- 
tive constitutional  spheres,  avoiding,  in  the  exercise  of  the 
powers  of  one  department,  to  encroach  upon  another.  The 
spirit  of  encroachment  tends  to  consolidate  the  powers  of 
all  the  departments  in  one,  and  thus  to  create,  whatever  the 
form  of  government,  a real  despotism.  A just  estimate  of 
that  love  of  power,  and  proneness  to  abuse  it,  w'hich  pre- 
dominates in  the  human  heart,  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  us  of 
the  truth  of  this  position.  The  necessity  of  reciprocal 
checks  in  the  exercise  of  political  power,  by  dividing  and 
distributing  it  into  different  depositaries,  and  constituting 
each  the  guardian  of  the  public  weal,  against  invasions  by 
the  others,  has  been  evinced  by  experiments,  ancient  and 
modern  ; some  of  them  in  our  own  country,  and  under  our 
own  eyes.  To  preserve  them  must  be  as  necessary  as  to 
institute  them.  If,  in  the  opinion  of  the  people,  the  distri- 
bution or  modification  of  the  constitutional  powers  be,  in 
any  particular,  wrong,  let  it  be  corrected  by  an  amendment 
in  the  way  which  the  Constitution  designates.  But  let  there 
be  no  change  by  usurpation  ; for  though  this,  in  one  instance, 
may  be  the  instrument  of  good,  it  is  the  customary  weapon 
-by  which  free  governments  are  destroyed.  The  precedent 
must  always  greatly  overbalance,  in  permanent  evil,  any 
partial  or  transient  benefit  which  the  use  can,  at  any  time, 
yield. 


448  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead  to  political 
prosperity,  religion  and  morality  are  indispensable  supports. 
In  vain  would  that  man  claim  the  tribute  of  patriotism, 
who  should  labor  to  subvert  these  great  pillars  of  human 
happiness,  these  firmest  props  of  the  duties  of  men  and 
citizens.  The  mere  politician,  equally  with  the  pious  man, 
ought  to  respect  and  to  cherish  them.  A volume  could  not 
trace  all  their  connections  with  private  and  public  felicity. 
Let  it  simply  be  asked,  where  is  the  security  for  property, 
for  reputation,  for  life,  if  the  sense  of  religious  obligation 
desert  the  oaths  which  are  the  instruments  of  investigation 
in  courts  of  justice  ? And  let  us  with  caution  indulge  the 
supposition,  that  morality  can  be  maintained  without  reli- 
gion. Whatever  may  be  conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined 
education  on  minds  of  peculiar  structure,  reason  and  expe- 
rience both  forbid  us  to  expect  that  national  morality  car 
prevail  in  exclusion  of  religious  principles. 

It  is  substantially  true,  that  virtue  or  morality  is  a neces- 
sary spring  of  popular  government.  The  rule,  indeed, 
extends  with  more  or  less  force  to  every  species  of  free 
■government.  Who,  that  is  a sincere  friend  to  it,  can  look 
with  indifference  upon  attempts  to  shake  the  foundation  of 
the  fabric  ? 

Promote,  then,  as  an  object  of  primary  importance,  insti- 
tutions for  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge.  In  propor- 
tion as  the  structure  of  a government  gives  force  to  public 
opinion,  it  is  essential  that  public  opinion  should  be  en- 
lightened. 

As  a very  important  source  of  strength  and  security, 
cherish  public  credit.  One  method  of  preserving  it  is  to 
use  it  as  sparingly  as  possible ; avoiding  occasions  of  ex- 
pense by  cultivating  peace,  but  remembering  also  that  timely 
disbursements  to  prepare  for  danger,  frequently  prevent 
much  greater  disbursements  to  repel  it ; avoiding,  likewise, 
the  accumulation  of  debt,  not  only  by  shunning  occasions 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSE8.  449 

of  expense,  but  by  vigorous  exertions  in  time  of  peace  to 
discharge  the  debts  which  unavoidable  wars  may  have  occa- 
sioned ; not  ungenerously  throwing  upon  posterity  the  bur- 
den which  we  ourselves  ought  to  bear.  The  execution  of 
these  maxims  belongs  to  your  representatives,  but  it  is 
necessary  that  public  opinion  should  co-operate.  To  facili- 
tate to  them  the  performance  of  their  duty,  it  is  essential 
that  you  should  practically  bear  in  mind,  that  towards  the 
payment  of  debts  there  must  be  revenue  ; that  to  have  reve- 
nue there  must  be  taxes;  that  no  taxes  can  be  devised, 
which  are  not  more  or  less  inconvenient  and  unpleasant ; that 
the  intrinsic  embarrassment  inseparable  from  the  selection 
of  the  proper  objects,  (which  is  always  a choice  of  difficul- 
ties,) ought  to  be  a decisive  motive  for  a candid  construction 
of  the  conduct  of  the  Government  in  making  it,  and  for  a 
spirit  of  acquiescence  in  the  measures  for  obtaining  revenue, 
which  the  public  exigencies  may  at  any  time  dictate. 

Observe  good  faith  and  justice  towards  all  nations ; cul- 
tivate peace  and  harmony  with  all ; religion  and  morality 
enjoin  this  conduct ; and  can  it  be  that  good  policy  does 
not  equally  enjoin  it?  It  will  be  worthy  of  a free,  enligh- 
tened, and,  at  no  distant  period,  a great  nation,  to  give  to 
mankind  the  magnanimous  and  too  novel  example  of  a 
people  always  guided  by  an  exalted  justice  and  benevolence. 
Who  can  doubt  that,  in  the  course  of  time  and  things,  the 
fruits  of  such  a plan  would  richly  repay  any  temporary  ad- 
vantages which  might  be  lost  by  a steady  adherence  to  it  ? 
Can  it  be  that  Providence  has  not  connected  the  permanent 
felicity  of  a nation  with  its  virtue  ? The  experiment,  at 
least,  is  recommended  by  every  sentiment  which  ennobles 
human  nature.  Alas  I is  it  rendered  impossible  by  its 
vices  ? 

In  the  execution  of  such  a plan,  nothing  is  more  essential 
than  that  permanent  inveterate  antipathies  against  particular 
nations,  and  passionate  attachments  for  others,  should  be 
29 


400  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


excluded ; and  that,  in  place  of  them,  just  and  amicable 
feelings  towards  all  should  be  cultivated.  The  nation  which 
indulges  towards  another  an  habitual  hatred,  or  an  habitual 
fondness,  is,  in  some  degree,  a slave.  It  is  a slave  to  its 
animosity  or  to  its  affection  ; either  of  which  is  sufficient  to 
lead  it  astray  from  its  duty  and  its  interest.  Antipathy  in 
one  nation  against  another,  disposes  each  more  readily  to 
offer  insult  and  injury,  to  lay  hold  of  slight  causes  of 
umbrage,  and  to  be  haughty  and  intractable,  when  acciden- 
tal or  trifling  occasions  of  dispute  occur.  Hence  frequent 
collisions,  obstinate,  envenomed,  and  bloody  contests.  The 
nation,  prompted  by  ill-will  and  resentment,  sometimes 
impels  to  war  the  Government,  contrary  to  the  best  calcula- 
tions of  policy.  The  Government  sometimes  participates 
in  the  national  propensity,  and  adopts,  through  passion, 
what  reason  would  reject ; at  other  times  it  makes  the  ani- 
mosity of  the  nation,  subservient  to  projects  of  hostility, 
instigated  by  pride,  ambition,  and  other  sinister  and  per- 
nicious motives.  The  peace  often,  sometimes  perhaps  the 
liberty,  of  nations  has  been  the  victim. 

So,  likewise,  a passionate  attachment  of  one  nation  to 
another  produces  a variety  of  evils.  Sympathy  for  the  fa- 
vorite nation,  facilitating  the  illusion  of  an  imaginary  com- 
mon interest,  in  cases  where  no  real  common  interest  exists, 
and  infusing  into  one  the  enmities  of  the  other,  betrays  the 
former  into  a participation  in  the  quarrels  and  wars  of  the 
latter,  without  adequate  inducement  or  justification.  It 
leads  also  to  concessions  to  the  favorite  nation  of  privileges 
denied  to  others,  which  is  apt  doubly  to  injure  the  nation 
making  the  concessions;  by  unnecessarily  parting  with  what 
ought  to  have  been  retained,  and  by  exciting  jealousy,  ill- 
will,  and  a disposition  to  retaliate,  in  the  parties  from  whom 
equal  privileges  are  withheld  ; and  it  gives  to  ambitious, 
corrupted,  or  deluded  citizens  (who  devote  themselves  to 
the  favorite  nation)  facility  to  betray,  or  sacrifice  the  in- 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  451 

terest  of  their  own  country,  without  odium  ; sometimes  even 
with  popularity ; gilding  with  the  appearance  of  a virtuous 
sense  of  obligation,  a commendable  deference  for  public 
opinion,  or  a laudable  zeal  for  public  good,  the  base  or 
foolish  compliances  of  ambition,  corruption,  or  infatuation. 

As  avenues  to  foreign  influence  in  innumerable  ways,  such 
attachments  are  particularly  alarming  to  the  truly  enlight- 
ened and  independent  patriot.  How  many  opportunities 
do  they  afford  to  tamper  with  domestic  factions,  to  practice 
the  art  of  seduction,  to  mislead  public  opinion,  to  influence 
or  awe  the  public  councils  ? Such  an  attachment  of  a small 
or  weak,  toward  a great  and  powerful  nation,  dooms  the 
former  to  be  the  satellite  of  the  latter. 

Against  the  insidious  wiles  of  foreign  influence  (I  conjure 
you  to  believe  me,  fellow-citizens)  the  jealousy  of  a free 
people  ought  to  be  constantly  awake ; since  history  and  ex- 
perience prove  that  foreign  influence  is  one  of  the  most  bane- 
ful foes  of  republican  government.  But  that  jealousy,  to  be 
useful,  must  be  impartial ; else  it  becomes  the  instrument 
of  the  very  influence  to  be  avoided,  instead  of  a defense 
against  it.  Excessive  partiality  for  one  foreign  nation,  and 
excessive  dislike  for  another,  cause  those  whom  they  actuate 
to  see  danger  only  on  one  side,  and  serve  to  vail,  and  even 
second,  the  arts  of  influence  on  the  other.  Heal  patriots, 
who  may  resist  the  intrigues  of  the  favorite,  are  liable  to 
become  suspected  and  odious ; while  its  tools  and  dupes 
usurp  the  applause  and  confidence  of  the  people,  to  surren- 
der their  interests. 

The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us,  in  regard  to  foreign  na- 
tions is,  in  extending  our  commercial  relations,  to  have  with 
them  as  little  political  connection  as  possible.  So  far  as  w'e 
have  formed  engagements,  let  them  be  fulfilled  with  perfect 
good  faith.  Here  let  us  stop. 

Europe  has  a set  of  primary  interests,  which  to  us  have 
none,  or  a very  remote  relation.  Hence  she  must  be  en- 


452  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

gaged  in  frequent  controversies,  the  causes  of  which  are  es- 
sentially foreign  to  our  concerns.  Hence,  therefore,  it  must 
be  unwise  in  us  to  implicate  ourselves,  by  artificial  ties,  in 
the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of  politics,  or  the  ordinary  combi- 
nations and  collisions  of  her  friendships  or  enmities. 

Our  detached  and  distant  situation  invites  and  enables  us 
to  pursue  a different  course.  If  we  remain  one  people,  un- 
der an  efficient  government,  the  period  is  not  far  off  when 
we  may  defy  material  injury  from  external  annoyance  ; when 
we  may  take  such  an  attitude  as  will  cause  the  neutrality  we 
may  at  any  time  resolve  upon,  to  be  scrupulously  respected  ; 
when  belligerent  nations,  under  the  impossibility  of  making 
acquisitions  upon  us,  will  not  lightly  hazard  the  giving  us 
provocation  ; when  we  may  choose  peace  or  war,  as  our  in- 
terest, guided  by  justice,  shall  counsel. 

Why  forego  the  advantages  of  so  peculiar  a situation  ? 
Why  quit  our  own  to  stand  upon  foreign  ground  ? Why, 
by  interweaving  our  destiny  with  that  of  any  part  of  Europe, 
entangle  our  peace  and  prosperity  in  the  toils  of  European 
ambition,  rivalship,  interest,  humor,  or  caprice  ? 

It  is  our  true  policy  to  steer  clear  of  permanent  alliances 
with  any  portion  of  the  foreign  world  ; so  far,  I mean,  as 
we  are  now  at  liberty  to  do  it ; for  let  me  not  be  understood 
as  capable  of  patronizing  infidelity  to  existing  engagements. 
I hold  the  maxim  no  less  applicable  to  public  than  to  private 
affairs,  that  honesty  is  always  the  best  policy.  I repeat  it, 
therefore,  let  those  engagements  be  observed  in  their  genuine 
sense.  But  in  my  opinion,  it  is  unnecessary,  aud  would  be 
unwise,  to  extend  them. 

Taking  care  always  to  keep  ourselves,  by  suitable  estab- 
lishments, in  a respectable  defensive  posture,  vre  may  safely 
trust  to  temporary  alliances  for  extraordinary  emergencies. 

Harmony,  and  a liberal  intercourse  with  all  nations,  are 
recommended  by  policy,  humanity,  and  interest.  But  even 
our  commercial  policy  should  hold  an  equal  and  impartial 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  453 

hand  ; neither  seeking  nor  granting  exclusive  favors  or 
preferences ; consulting  the  natural  course  of  things  ; dif 
fusing  and  diversifying,  by  gentle  means,  the  streams  of 
commerce,  but  forcing  nothing;  establishing,  with  powers 
so  disposed,  in  order  to  give  trade  a stable  course,  to  define 
the  rights  of  our  merchants,  and  to  enable  the  government 
to  support  them,  conventional  rules  of  intercourse,  the  best 
that  present  circumstances  and  mutual  opinions  will  permit, 
but  temporary,  and  liable  to  be,  from  time  to  time,  aban 
doned  or  varied,  as  experience  and  circumstances  shall  dic- 
tate; constantly  keeping  in  view,  that  it  is  folly  in  one 
nation  to  look  for  disinterested  favors  from  another;  that 
it  must  pay,  with  a portion  of  its  independence,  for  whatever 
it  may  accept  under  that  character  ; that  by  such  acceptance 
it  may  place  itself  in  the  condition  of  Having  given  equiva- 
lents for  nominal  favors,  and  yet  of  being  reproached  with 
ingratitude  for  not  giving  more.  There  can  be  no  greater 
error  than  to  expect,  or  calculate  upon,  real  favors,  from 
nation  to  nation.  It  is  an  illusion  which  experience  must 
cure,  which  a just  pride  ought  to  discard. 

In  offering  to  you,  my  countrymen,  these  counsels  of  an 
old  and  affectionate  friend,  I dare  not  hope  they  will  make 
the  strong  and  lasting  impression  I could  wish  ; that  they 
will  control  the  usual  current  of  the  passions,  or  prevent 
our  nation  from  running  the  course  which  has  hitherto 
marked  the  destiny  of  nations  ; but  if  I may  even  flatter 
myself  that  they  may  be  productive  of  some  partial  benefit, 
some  occasional  good ; that  they  may  now  and  then  recur 
to  moderate  the  fury  of  party  spirit,  to  warn  against  the 
mischiefs  of  foreign  intrigues,  to  guard  against  the  impos- 
tures of  pretended  patriotism  ; this  hope  will  be  a full 
recompense  for  the  solicitude  for  your  welfare  by  which 
they  have  been  dictated. 

How  far,  in  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties,  I have 
been  guided  by  the  principles  which  have  been  delineated. 


454:  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

the  public  records,  and  other  evidences  of  my  conduct,  must 
witness  to  you  and  the  world.  To  myself,  the  assurance  of 
my  own  conscience  is,  that  I have  at  least  believed  myself 
to  be  guided  by  them. 

In  relation  to  the  still  subsisting  war  in  Europe,  my 
proclamation  of  the  22d  of  April,  1193,  is  the  index  to  my 
plan.  Sanctioned  by  your  approving  voice,  and  that  of 
your  representatives  in  both  houses  of  Congress,  the  spirit 
of  that  measure  has  continually  governed  me,  uninfluenced 
by  any  attempts  to  deter  or  divert  me  from  it. 

After  deliberate  examination,  with  the  aid  of  the  best 
lights  I could  obtain,  I was  well  satisfied  that  our  country, 
under  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  had  a right  to  take, 
and  was  bound  in  duty  and  interest  to  take,  a neutral  posi- 
tion. Having  taken  it,  I determined,  as  far  as  should 
depend  upon  me,  to  maintain  it  with  moderation,  perse- 
verance, and  firmness. 

The  considerations  which  respect  the  right  to  hold  this 
conduct,  it  is  not  necessary  on  this  occasion  to  detail.  I 
will  only  observe,  that,  according  to  my  understanding  of 
the  matter,  that  right,  so  far  from  being  denied  by  any  of 
the  belligerent  powers,  has  been  virtually  admitted  by  all. 

The  duty  of  holding  a neutral  conduct  may  be  inferred, 
without  anything  more,  from  the  obligation  which  justice 
and  humanity  impose  on  every  nation,  in  cases  in  which  it 
is  free  to  act,  to  maintain  inviolate  the  relations  of  peace 
and  amity  towards  other  nations. 

The  inducements  of  interest,  for  observing  that  conduct, 
will  best  be  referred  to  your  own  reflections  and  experience. 
With  me,  a predominant  motive  has  been  to  endeavor  to 
gain  time  to  our  country  to  settle  and  mature  its  yet  recent 
institutions,  and  to  progress,  without  interruption,  to  that 
degree  of  strength  and  consistency  which  is  necessary  to 
give  it,  humanly  speaking,  the  command  of  its  own  for- 
tunes. 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  455 


Though  in  reviewing  the  incidents  of  my  administration, 
I am  unconscious  of  intentional  error ; I am,  nevertheless, 
too  sensible  of  my  defects  not  to  think  it  probable  that  I 
may  have  committed  many  errors.  Whatever  they  may  be, 
I fervently  beseech  the  Almighty  to  avert  or  mitigate  the 
evils  to  which  they  may  tend.  I shall  also  carry  with  me 
the  hope,  that  my  country  will  never  cease  to  view  them 
with  indulgence  ; and  that,  after  forty-five  years  of  my  life 
dedicated  to  its  service  with  an  upright  zeal,  the  faults  of 
incompetent  abilities  will  be  consigned  to  oblivion,  as  myself 
must  soon  be  to  the  mansions  of  rest. 

Relying  on  its  kindness  in  this,  as  in  other  things,  and 
actuated  by  that  fervent  love  towards  it  which  is  so  natural 
to  a man  who  views  in  it  the  native  soil  of  himself  and  his 
progenitors  for  several  generations,  I anticipate,  with  plea- 
sing expectation,  that  retreat  in  which  I promise  myself  to 
realize,  without  alloy,  the  sweet  enjoyment  of  partaking,  in 
the  midst  of  my  fellow-citizens,  the  benign  influence  of  good 
laws  under  a free  Government — the  ever  favorite  object  of 
my  heart — and  the  happy  reward,  as  I trust,  of  our  mutual 
cares,  labors,  and  dangers. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

United  States,  September  1 1th,  1196. 

Following  the  example  of  Washington,  General  Jackson 
issued  a Farewell  Address  to  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
at  his  retiring  from  the  Presidency  ; and,  like  that  of  Wash- 
ington, it  was  principally  devoted  to  the  danger  of  disunion, 
and  to  the  preservation  of  harmony  and  good  feeling  be- 
tween the  different  sections  of  the  country.  General  Wash- 
ington only  had  to  contemplate  the  danger  of  disunion,  as 
a possibility,  and  as  an  event  of  future  contingency  ; General 
Jackson  had  to  confront  it  as  a present,  actual,  subsisting 
danger,  and  therefore  published  the  following 


456  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


FAREWELL  ADDRESS  OF  ANDREW  JACKSON  TO  THE 
PEOPLE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Fellow-citizens. — Being  about  to  retire  finally  from 
public  life,  I beg  leave  to  offer  you  my  grateful  thanks  for 
the  many  proofs  of  kindness  and  confidence  which  I have  re- 
ceived at  your  hands.  It  has  been  my  fortune,  in  the  dis- 
charge of  public  duties,  civil  and  military,  frequently  to 
have  found  myself  in  difficult  and  trying  situations,  where 
prompt  decision  and  energetic  action  were  necessary,  and 
where  the  interest  of  the  country  required  that  high  respon- 
sibilities should  be  fearlessly  encountered  ; and  it  is  with 
the  deepest  emotions  of  gratitude  that  I acknowledge  the 
continued  and  unbroken  confidence  with  which  you  have 
sustained  me  in  every  trial.  My  public  life  has  been  a long 
one,  and  I cannot  hope  that  it  has,  at  all  times,  been  free 
from  errors.  But  I have  the  consolation  of  knowing  that, 
if  mistakes  have  been  committed,  they  have  not  seriously 
injured  the  country  I so  anxiously  endeavored  to  serve  ; and 
at  the  moment  when  I surrender  my  last  public  trust,  I 
I leave  this  great  people  prosperous  and  happy,  in  the  full 
enjoyment  of  liberty  and  peace,  and  honored  and  respected 
by  every  nation  of  the  world. 

If  my  humble  efforts  have,  in  any  degree,  contributed  to 
preserve  to  you  these  blessings,  I have  b(en  more  than  re- 
warded by  the  honors  you  have  heaped  upon  me,  and,  above 
all,  by  the  generous  confidence  with  which  you  have  sup- 
ported me  in  every  peril,  and  with  which  you  have  continued 
to  animate  and  cheer  my  path  to  the  closing  hour  of  my 
political  life.  The  time  has  now  come, 'when  advanced  age 
and  a broken  frame  warn  me  to  retire  from  public  concerns ; 
but  the  recollection  of  the  many  favors  you  have  bestowed 
upon  me  is  engraven  upon  my  heart,  and  I have  felt  that  I 
could  not  part  from  your  service  without  making  this  publio 
acknowledgment  of  the  gratitude  I owe  you.  And  if  I use 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  457 

the  occasion  to  offer  to  you  the  counsels  of  age  and  expe- 
rience, you  will,  I trust,  receive  them  with  the  same  indul- 
gent kindness  which  you  have  so  often  extended  to  me; 
and  will,  at  least,  see  in  them  an  earnest  desire  to  perpetu- 
ate, in  this  favored  land,  the  blessings  of  liberty  and  equal 
law. 

We  have  now  lived  almost  fifty  years  under  the  constitu- 
tion framed  by  the  sages  and  patriots  of  the  Revolution. 
The  conflicts  in  which  the  nations  of  Europe  were  engaged 
during  a great  part  of  this  period,  the  spirit  in  which  they 
waged  war  against  each  other,  and  our  intimate  com- 
mercial connections  with  every  part  of  the  civilized  world, 
rendered  it  a time  of  much  difficulty  for  the  Government  of 
the  United  States.  We  have  had  our  seasons  of  peace  and 
of  war,  with  all  the  evils  which  precede  or  follow  a state  of 
hostility  with  powerful  nations.  We  encountered  these 
trials  with  our  constitution  yet  in  its  infancy,  and  under  the 
disadvantages  which  a new  and  untried  government  must 
always  feel  when  it  is  called  upon  to  put  forth  its  whole 
strength,  without  the  lights  of  experience  to  guide  it,  or  the 
weight  of  precedents  to  justify  its  measures.  But  we  have 
passed  triumphantly  through  all  these  difficulties.  Our 
Constitution  is  uo  longer  a doubtful  experiment;  and,  at 
the  end  of  nearly  half  a century,  we  find  that  it  has  pre- 
served unimpaired  the  liberties  of  the  people,  secured  the 
rich's  of  property,  and  that  our  country  has  improved  and 
is  flourishing  beyond  any  former  example  in  the  history  of 
nations. 

In  our  domestic  concerns  there  is  everything  to  encour- 
age us  ; and,  if  you  are  true  to  yourselves,  nothing  can 
impede  your  march  to  the  highest  point  of  national  pros 
perity.  The  States  which  had  so  long  been  retarded  in 
their  improvement  by  the  Indian  tribes  residing  in  thn 
midst  of  them,  are  at  length  relieved  from  the  evil ; and 
this  unhappy  race — the  original  dwellers  in  our  land — a-e 


458  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

now  placed  in  a situation  where  we  may  well  hope  that  they 
will  share  in  the  blessings  of  civilization,  and  be  saved  from 
that  degradation  and  destruction  to  which  they  were  rapidly 
hastening  while  they  remained  in  the  States ; and  while 
the  safety  and  comfort  of  our  own  citizens  have  been  greatly 
promoted  by  their  removal,  the  philanthropist  will  rejoice 
that  the  remnant  of  that  ill-fated  race  has  been  at  length 
placed  beyond  the  reach  of  injury  or  oppression,  and  that 
the  paternal  care  of  the  general  government  will  hereafter 
watch  over  them  and  protect  them. 

If  we  turn  to  our  relations  with  foreign  powers,  we  find 
our  condition  equally  gratifying.  Actuated  by  the  sincere 
desire  to  do  justice  to  every  nation,  and  to  preserve  the 
blessings  of  peace,  our  intercourse  with  them  has  been  con- 
ducted on  the  part  of  this  government  in  the  spirit  of  frank- 
ness, and  I take  pleasure  in  saying  that  it  has  generally 
been  met  in  a corresponding  temper.  Difficulties  of  old 
standing  have  been  surmounted  by  friendly  discussion  and 
the  mutual  desire  to  be  just;  and  the  claims  of  our  citi- 
zens, which  had  been  long  withheld,  have  at  length  been 
acknowledged  and  adjusted,  and  satisfactory  arrangements 
made  for  their  final  payment ; and,  with  a limited,  and,  I 
trust,  a temporary  exception,  our  relations  with  every  for- 
eign power  are  now  of  the  most  friendly  character — our 
commerce  continually  expanding,  and  our  flag  respected  in 
every  quarter  of  the  world. 

These  cheering  and  grateful  prospects,  and  these  mul- 
tiplied favors,  we  owe,  under  Providence,  to  the  adoption 
of  the  federal  Constitution.  It  is  no  longer  a question 
whether  this  great  country  can  remain  happily  united,  and 
flourish,  under  our  present  form  of  government.  Experi- 
ence, the  unerring  test  of  all  human  undertakings,  has 
shown  the  wisdom  and  foresight  of  those  who  formed  it ; 
and  has  proved,  that,  in  the  union  of  these  States,  there 
is  a sure  foundation  for  the  brightest  hopes  of  freedom,  and 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  459 

for  the  happiness  of  the  people.  At  every  hazard,  and  by 
every  sacrifice,  this  Union  must  be  preserved. 

The  necessity  of  watching  with  jealous  anxiety  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Un:on,  was  earnestly  pressed  upon  his 
fellow-citizens,  by  the  Father  of  his  Country,  in  his  farewell 
address.  He  has  there  told  us,  that,  “ while  experience 
shall  not  have  demonstrated  its  impracticability,  there  will 
always  be  reason  to  distrust  the  patriotism  of  those  who,  in 
any  quarter,  may  endeavor  to  weaken  its  bands and  he 
has  cautioned  us,  in  the  strongest  terms,  against  the  forma- 
tion of  parties  on  geographical  discriminations,  as  one  of 
the  means  which  might  disturb  our  Union,  and  to  which  de- 
signing men  would  be  likely  to  resort. 

The  lessons  contained  in  this  invaluable  legacy  of  Wash- 
ington to  his  countrymen,  should  be  cherished  in  the  heart 
of  every  citizen  to  the  latest  generation  ; and,  perhaps,  at 
no  period  of  time  could  they  be  more  usefully  remembered 
than  at  the  present  moment.  For,  when  we  look  upon  the 
scenes  that  are  passing  around  us,  and  dwell  upon  the 
pages  of  his  parting  address,  his  paternal  counsels  would 
seem  to  be  not  merely  the  offspring  of  wisdom  and  fore- 
sight, but  the  voice  of  prophecy,  foretelling  events,  and 
warning  us  of  the  evil  to  come.  Forty  years  have  passed 
since  this  imperishable  document  was  given  to  his  country- 
men. The  federal  Constitution  was  then  regarded  by  him 
as  an  experiment,  and  he  so  speaks  of  it  in  his  address,  but 
an  experiment  upon  the  success  of  which  the  best  hopes  of 
his  country  depended  ; and  we  all  know  that  he  was  pre- 
pared to  lay  down  his  life,  if  necessary,  to  secure  to  it  a 
full  and  a fair  trial  The  trial  has  been  made.  It  has  suc- 
ceeded beyond  the  proudest  hopes  of  those  who  framed  it. 
Every  quarter  of  this  widely  extended  nation  has  felt  its 
blessings,  and  shared  in  the  general  prosperity  produced  by 
its  adoption.  But,  amid  this  general  prosperity  and  splen- 
did success,  the  dangers  of  which  he  warned  us  are  becom- 


460  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


ing  every  day  more  evident,  and  the  signs  of  evil  are 
sufficiently  apparent  to  awaken  the  deepest  anxiety  in  the 
bosom  of  the  patriot.  We  behold  systematic  efforts  pub- 
licly made  to  sow  the  seeds  of  discord  between  different 
parts  of  the  United  States,  and  to  place  party  divisions  di- 
rectly upon  geographical  distinctions ; to  excite  the  South 
against  the  North,  and  the  North  against  the  South,  and  to 
force  into  the  controversy  the  most  delicate  and  exciting 
topics — topics  upon  which  it  is  impossible  that  a large  por- 
tion of  the  Union  can  ever  speak  without  strong  emotion. 
Appeals,  too,  are  constantly  made  to  sectional  interests,  in 
order  to  influence  the  election  of  the  Chief  Magistrate,  as  if 
it  were  desired  that  he  should  favor  a particular  quarter  of 
the  country,  instead  of  fulfilling  the  duties  of  his  station 
with  impartial  justice  to  all ; and  the  possible  dissolution 
of  the  Union  has  at  length  become  an  ordinary  and  familiar 
subject  of  discussion.  Has  the  warning  voice  of  Washing- 
ton been  forgotten  ? or  have  designs  already  been  formed 
to  sever  the  Union  ? Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  I impute 
to  all  of  those  who  have  taken  an  active  part  in  these  unwise 
and  unprofitable  discussions  a want  of  patriotism  or  of  pub- 
lic virtue.  The  honorable  feeling  of  State  pride,  and  local 
attachments,  find  a place  in  the  bosoms  of  the  most  enlight- 
ened and  pure.  But  while  such  men  are  conscious  of  their 
own  integrity  and  honesty  of  purpose,  they  ought  never  to 
forget  that  the  citizens  of  other  States  are  their  political 
brethren;  and  that,  however  mistaken  they  may  be  in  theii 
views,  the  great  body  of  them  are  equally  honest  and  upright 
with  themselves.  Mutual  suspicious  and  reproaches  may 
in  time  create  mutual  hostility,  and  artful  and  designing 
men  will  always  be  found,  who  are  ready  to  foment  these 
fatal  divisions,  and  to  inflame  the  natural  jealousies  of  diffe- 
rent sections  of  the  country.  The  history  of  the  world  ia 
full  of  such  examples,  and  especially  the  history  of  re 
publics. 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  461 


What  have  yon  to  grain  by  division  and  dissension  ? De- 
lude not  yourselves  with  the  belief  that  a breach  once  made 
may  be  afterwards  repaired.  If  the  Union  is  once  severed, 
the  line  of  separation  will  grow  wider  and  wider,  and  the 
controversies  which  are  now  debated  and  settled  in  the  halls 
of  legislation  will  then  be  tried  in  fields  of  battle,  and  deter- 
mined by  the  sword.  Neither  should  you  deceive  yourselves 
with  the  hope  that  the  first  line  of  separation  would  be  the 
permanent  one,  and  that  nothing  but  harmony  and  concord 
would  be  found  in  the  new  associations  formed  upon  the 
dissolution  of  this  Union.  Local  interests  would  still  be 
found  there,  and  unchastened  ambition.  And  if  the  recol- 
lection of  common  dangers,  in  which  the  people  of  these 
United  States  stood  side  by  side  against  the  common  foe; 
the  memory  of  victories  wron  by  their  united  valor;  the 
prosperity  and  happiness  they  have  enjoyed  under  the 
present  Constitution ; the  proud  name  they  bear  as  citizens 
of  this  great  republic  : if  all  these  recollections  and  proofs 
of  common  interest  are  not  strong  enough  to  bind  us  to- 
gether as  one  people,  what  tie  will  hold  united  the  new 
divisions  of  empire,  when  these  bonds  have  been  broken  and 
this  Union  dissevered.  The  first  line  of  separation  wrould 
not  last  for  a single  generation ; new  fragments  would  be 
torn  off;  new  leaders  w'ould  spring  up  ; and  this  great  and 
glorious  republic  would  soon  be  broken  into  a multitude  of 
petty  States,  without  commerce,  without  credit;  jealous  of 
one  another ; armed  for  mutual  agression,  loaded  with  taxes 
to  pay  armies  and  leaders;  seeking  aid  against  each  other 
from  foreign  powers  ; insulted  and  trampled  upon  by  the 
nations  of  Europe,  until  harassed  with  conflicts,  and  humbled 
and  debased  in  spirit,  they  would  be  ready  to  submit  to  the 
absolute  dominion  of  any  military  adventurer,  and  to  sur- 
render their  liberty  for  the  sake  of  repose.  It  is  impossible 
to  look  on  the  consequences  that  would  inevitably  follow 
the  destruction  of  this  governmemt,  and  not  feel  indignant 


462  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


when  we  hear  cold  calculations  about  the  value  of  the  Union, 
and  have  so  constantly  before  us  a line  of  conduct  so  well 
calculated  to  weaken  its  ties. 

There  is  too  much  at  stake  to  allow  pride  or  passion  to 
influence  your  decision.  Never  for  a moment  believe  that 
the  great  body  of  the  citizens  of  any  State  or  States  can  de- 
liberately intend  to  do  wrong.  They  may,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  temporary  excitement  or  misguided  opinions,  commit 
mistakes  ; they  may  be  misled  for  a time  by  the  suggestions 
of  self-interest;  but,  in  a community  so  enlightened  and 
patriotic  as  the  people  of  the  United  States,  argument  will 
soon  make  them  sensible  of  their  errors ; and  when  convinced, 
they  will  be  ready  to  repair  them.  If  they  have  no  higher 
or  better  motives  to  govern  them,  they  will  at  least  perceive 
that  their  own  interest  requires  them  to  be  just  to  others, 
as  they  hope  to  receive  justice  at  their  hands. 

But,  in  order  to  maintain  the  Union  unimpaired,  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  that  the  laws  passed  by  the  constituted 
authorities  should  be  faithfully  executed  in  every  part  of  the 
country,  and  that  every  good  citizen  should,  at  all  times, 
stand  ready  to  put  down,  with  the  combined  force  of  the 
nation,  every  attempt  at  unlawful  resistance,  under  whatever 
pretext  it  may  be  made,  or  whatever  shape  it  may  assume. 
Unconstitutional  or  oppressive  laws  may,  no  doubt,  be 
passed  by  Congress,  either  from  erroneous  views,  or  the 
want  of  due  consideration  ; if  they  are  within  the  reach  of 
judicial  authority,  the  remedy  is  easy  and  peaceful ; and  if, 
from  the  character  of  the  law,  it  is  an  abuse  of  power  not 
within  the  control  of  the  judiciary,  then  free  discussion  and 
calm  appeals  to  reason  and  to  the  justice  of  the  people  will 
not  fail  to  redress  the  wrong.  But  until  the  law  shall  be 
declared  void  by  the  courts,  or  repealed  by  Congress,  no 
individual,  or  combination  of  individuals,  can  be  justified 
in  forcibly  resisting  its  execution.  It  is  impossible  that 
any  government  can  continue  to  exist  upon  any  other  prin- 


INAUGURAL  AN  I)  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  463 


ciples.  It  would  cease  to  be  a government,  and  be  un- 
worthy of  the  name,  if  it  had  not  the  power  to  enforce  the 
execution  of  its  own  laws  within  its  own  sphere  of  action. 

It  is  true  that  cases  may  be  imagined  disclosing  such  a 
settled  purpose  of  usurpation  and  oppression,  ou  the  part 
of  the  government,  as  would  justify  an  appeal  to  arms. 
These,  however,  are  extreme  cases,  which  we  have  no  reason 
to  apprehend  in  a government  where  the  power  is  in  the 
hands  of  a patriotic  people  ; and  no  citizen  who  loves  his 
country  would,  in  any  case  whatever,  resort  to  forcible  re- 
sistance, unless  he  clearly  saw  that  the  time  had  comew'hen 
a freeman  should  prefer  death  to  submission  ; for  if  such  a 
struggle  is  once  begun,  and  the  citizens  of  one  section  of 
the  country  are  arrayed  in  arms  against  those  of  another  in 
doubtful  conflict,  let  the  battle  result  as  it  may,  there  will 
be  an  end  of  the  Union,  and  with  it  an  end  to  the  hopes  of 
freedom.  The  victory  of  the  injured  would  not  secure  to 
them  the  blessings  of  liberty  ; it  would  avenge  their  wrongs, 
but  they  would  themselves  share  in  the  common  ruin. 

But  the  Constitution  cannot  be  maintained,  nor  the  Union 
preserved,  in  opposition  to  public  feeling,  by  the  mere  ex- 
ertion of  the  coercive  powers  confided  to  the  general  govern- 
ment. The  foundations  must  belaid  in  the  affections  of  the 
people  ; in  the  security  it  gives  to  life,  liberty,  character, 
and  property,  in  every  quarter  of  the  country  ; and  in  the 
fraternal  attachment  which  the  citizens  of  the  several  States 
bear  to  one  another,  as  members  of  one  political  family,  mu- 
tually contributing  to  promote  the  happiness  of  each  other. 
Hence,  the  citizens  of  every  State  should  studiously  avoid 
everything  calculated  to  wound  the  sensibility  or  offend  the 
just  pride  of  the  people  of  other  States  ; and  they  should 
frown  upon  any  proceedings  within  their  own  borders  likely 
to  disturb  the  tranquillity  of  their  political  brethren  in  other 
portions  of  the  Union.  In  a country  so  extensive  as  the 
United  States,  and  with  pursuits  so  varied,  the  internal  regu- 


i64  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


lations  of  the  several  States  must  frequently  differ  from  one 
another  in  important  particulars  ; and  this  difference  is  una- 
voidably increased  by  the  varying  principles  upon  which  the 
American  colonies  were  originally  planted  ; principles  which 
had  taken  deep  root  in  their  social  relations  before  the  Revo- 
lution, and  therefore  of  necessity  influencing  their  policy  since 
they  became  free  and  independent  States.  But  each  State 
has  the  unquestionable  right  to  regulate  its  own  internal 
concerns  according  to  its  own  pleasure;  and  while  it  does 
not  interfere  with  the  rights  of  the  people  of  other  States, 
or  the  rights  of  the  Union,  every  State  must  be  the  sole  judge 
of  the  measures  proper  to  secure  the  safety  of  its  citizens, 
and  promote  their  happiness  ; and  all  efforts  on  the  part  of 
people  of  other  States  to  cast  odium  upon  their  institutions, 
and  all  measures  calculated  to  disturb  their  rights  of  property 
or  to  put  in  jeopardy  their  peace  and  internal  tranquillity, 
are  in  direct  opposition  to  the  spirit  in  which  the  Union  was 
formed,  and  must  endanger  its  safety.  Motives  of  philan- 
thropy may' be  assigned  for  this  unwarrantable  interference  ; 
and  weak  men  may  persuade  themselves  for  a moment  that 
they  are  laboring  in  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  asserting 
the  rights  of  the  human  race  ; but  every  one,  upon  sober 
reflection,  will  see  that  nothing  but  mischief  can  come  from 
these  improper  assaults  upon  the  feelings  and  rights  of 
jtbers.  Rest  assured  that  the  men  found  busy  in  this  work 
M discord  are  not  worthy  of  your  confidence,  and  deserve 
your  strongest  reprobation. 

In  the  legislation  of  Congress,  also,  and  in  every  measure 
of  the  general  government,  justice  to  every  portion  of  the 
Unii.ec  Spates  should  be  faithfully  observed.  No  free  gov- 
ernment can  stand  without  virtue  in  the  people,  and  a lofty 
spirit  of  patriotism  ; and  if  the  sordid  feelings  of  mere  sel- 
fishness shall  usurp  the  place  which  ought  to  be  filled  by 
public  spirit,  the  legislation  of  Congress  will  soon  be  con- 
verted into  a scramble  for  personal  and  sectional  advantages. 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  465 

Under  our  free  institutions,  the  citizens  of  every  quarter  of 
our  country  are  capable  of  attaining  a high  degree  of 
prosperity  and  happiness,  without  seeking  to  profit  them- 
selves at  the  expense  of  others;  and  every  such  attempt 
must  in  the  end  fail  to  succeed,  for  the  people  in  every  part 
of  the  United  States  are  too  enlightened  not  to  understand 
their  own  rights  and  interests,  and  to  detect  and  defeat  every 
effort  to  gain  undue  advantages  over  them  ; and  when  such 
designs  are  discovered,  it  naturally  provokes  resentments 
which  cannot  always  be  easily  allayed.  Justice,  full  and 
ample  justice,  to  every  portion  of  the  United  States,  should 
be  the  ruling  principle  of  every  freeman,  and  should  guide 
the  deliberations  of  every  public  body,  whether  it  be  State 
or  national. 

It  is  well  known  that  there  have  always  been  those 
amongst  us  who  wish  to  enlarge  the  powers  of  the  general 
government;  and  experience  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
there  is  a tendency  on  the  part  of  this  government  to  over- 
step the  boundaries  marked  out  for  it  by  the  Constitution. 
Its  legitimate  authority  is  abundantly  sufficient  for  all  the 
purposes  for  which  it  was  created  ; and  its  powers  being 
expressly  enumerated,  there  can  be  no  justification  for 
claiming  anything  beyond  them.  Every  attempt  to  exercise 
power  beyond  these  limits  should  be  promptly  and  firmly 
opposed.  For  one  evil  example  will  lead  to  other  measures 
still  more  mischievous ; and  if  the  principle  of  constructive 
powers,  or  supposed  advantages,  or  temporary  circum- 
stances, shall  ever  be  permitted  to  justify  the  assumption  of 
a power  not  given  by  the  Constitution,  the  general  govern- 
ment will  before  long  absorb  all  the  powers  of  legislation, 
and  you  will  have,  in  effect,  but  one  consolidated  govern- 
ment. From  the  extent  of  our  country,  its  diversified 
interests,  different  pursuits,  and  different  habits,  it  is  too 
obvious  for  argument,  that  a single  consolidated  govern- 
ment would  be  wholly  inadequate  to  watch  over  and  protect 
30 


466  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

its  interests;  and  every  friend  of  our  free  institutions  should 
be  always  prepared  to  maintain  unimpaired  and  in  full  vigor 
the  rights  and  sovereignty  of  the  States,  and  to  confine  the 
action  of  the  general  government  strictly  to  the  sphere  of 
its  appropriate  duties. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  one  of  the  powers  conferred  on  the 
federal  government  so  liable  to  abuse  as  the  taxing  power. 
The  most  productive  and  convenient  sources  of  revenue 
were  necessarily  given  to  it,  that  it  might  be  able  to  per- 
form the  important  duties  imposed  upon  it;  and  the  taxes 
which  it  lays  upon  commerce  being  concealed  from  the  real 
payer  in  the  price  of  the  article,  they  do  not  so  readily 
attract  the  attention  of  the  people  as  smaller  sums  demanded 
from  them  directly  by  the  tax-gatherer.  But  the  tax  im- 
posed on  goods  enhances  by  so  much  the  price  of  the  com- 
modity to  the  consumer;  and,  as  many  of  these  duties  are 
imposed  on  articles  of  necessity,  which  are  daily  used  by 
the  great  body  of  the  people,  the  money  raised  by  these 
imposts  is  drawn  from  their  pockets.  Congress  has  no 
right,  under  the  Constitution,  to  take  money  from  the  peo- 
ple, unless  it  is  required  to  execute  some  one  of  the  specific 
powers  intrusted  to  the  government ; and  if  they  raise  more 
than  is  necessary  for  such  purposes,  it  is  an  abuse  of  the 
power  of  taxation,  and  unjust  and  oppressive.  It  may, 
indeed,  happen  that  the  revenue  will  sometimes  exceed  the 
amount  anticipated  when  the  taxes  were  laid.  When,  how- 
ever, this  is  ascertained,  it  is  easy  to  reduce  them,  and,  in 
such  a case,  it  is  unquestionably  the  duty  of  the  govern- 
ment to  reduce  them  ; for  no  circumstances  can  justify  it  in 
assuming  a power  not  given  to  it  by  the  Constitution,  nor 
in  taking  away  the  money  of  the  people  w’hen  it  is  not 
needed  for  the  legitimate  wants  of  the  government. 

Plain  as  these  principles  appear  to  be,  you  will  yet  find 
there  is  a constant  effort  to  induce  the  general  government 
to  go  beyond  the  limits  of  its  taxing  power,  and  to  impose 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  467 


unnecessary  burdens  upon  the  people.  Many  powerful 
interests  are  continually  at  work  to  procure  heavy  duties  on 
commerce,  and  to  swell  the  revenue  beyond  the  real  necessi- 
ties of  the  public  service  ; and  the  country  has  already  felt 
the  injurious  effects  of  their  combined  influence.  They 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a tariff  of  duties  bearing  most  op- 
pressively on  the  agricultural  and  laboring  classes  of  society, 
and  producing  a revenue  that  could  not  be  usefully  employed 
within  the  range  of  the  powers  conferred  upon  Congress ; 
and,  in  order  to  fasten  upon  the  people  this  unjust  and 
unequal  system  of  taxation,  extravagant  schemes  of  inter- 
nal improvements  were  got  up  in  various  quarters,  to  squan- 
der the  money  and  to  purchase  support.  Thus  one  uncon- 
stitutional measure  was  intended  to  be  upheld  by  another, 
and  the  abuse  of  the  power  of  taxation  was  to  be  main- 
tained by  usurping  the  power  of  expending  the  money  in 
internal  improvements.  You  cannot  have  forgotten  the 
severe  and  doubtful  struggle  through  which  we  passed, 
when  the  executive  department  of  the  government,  by  its 
veto,  endeavored  to  arrest  this  prodigal  scheme  of  injustice, 
and  to  bring  back  the  legislation  of  Congress  to  the  boun- 
daries prescribed  by  the  Constitution.  The  good  sense 
and  practical  judgment  of  the  people,  when  the  subject  was 
brought  before  them,  sustained  the  course  of  the  executive  ; 
and  this  plan  of  unconstitutional  expenditures  for  the  pur- 
poses of  corrupt  influence  is,  I trust,  finally  overthrown. 

The  result  of  this  decision  has  been  felt  in  the  rapid 
extinguishment  of  the  public  debt,  and  the  large  accumu- 
lation of  a surplus  in  the  treasury,  notwithstanding  the 
tariff  was  reduced,  and  is  now  very  far  below  the  amount 
originally  contemplated  by  its  advocates.  But,  rely  upon 
it,  the  design  to  collect  an  extravagant  revenue,  and  to 
burden  you  with  taxes  beyond  the  economical  wants  of  the 
government,  is  not  yet  abandoned.  The  various  interests 
which  have  combined  together  to  impose  a heavy  tariff,  and 


468  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

to  produce  an  overflowing  treasury,  are  too  strong,  and 
have  too  much  at  stake,  to  surrender  the  contest.  The 
corporations  and  wealthy  individuals  who  are  engaged  in 
large  manufacturing  establishments  desire  a high  tariff  to 
increase  their  gains.  Designing  politicians  will  support  it 
to  conciliate  their  favor,  and  to  obtain  the  means  of  profuse 
expenditure,  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  influence  in  other 
quarters ; and,  since  the  people  have  decided  that  the  fede- 
ral government  cannot  be  permitted  to  employ  its  income 
in  internal  improvements,  efforts  will  be  made  to  seduce  and 
mislead  the  citizens  of  the  several  States,  by  holding  out  to 
them  the  deceitful  prospect  of  benefits  to  be  derived  from  a 
surplus  revenue  collected  by  the  general  government,  and 
annually  divided  among  the  States ; and  if,  encouraged  by 
these  fallacious  hopes,  the  States  should  disregard  the  prin- 
ciples of  economy  which  ought  to  characterize  every  repub- 
lican government,  and  should  indulge  in  lavish  expenditures, 
exceeding  their  resources,  they  will,  before  long,  find  them- 
selves oppressed  with  debts  which  they  are  unable  to  pay, 
and  the  temptation  will  become  irresistible  to  support  a 
high  tariff  in  order  to  obtain  a surplus  for  distribution. 
Do  not  allow  yourselves,  my  fellow-citizens,  to  be  misled 
on  this  subject.  The  federal  government  cannot  collect  a 
surplus  for  such  purposes,  without  violating  the  principles 
of  the  Constitution,  and  assuming  powers  which  have  not 
been  granted.  It  is,  moreover,  a system  of  injustice,  and, 
if  persisted  in,  will  inevitably  lead  to  corruption,  and  must 
end  in  ruin.  The  surplus  revenue  will  be  drawn  from  the 
pockets  of  the  people,  from  the  farmer,  the  mechanic,  and 
the  laboring  classes  of  society;  but  who  will  receive  it 
when  distributed  among  the  States,  where  it  is  to  be  dis- 
posed of  by  leading  State  politicians,  who  have  friends  to 
favor  and  political  partisans  to  gratify  ? It  will  certainly 
not  be  returned  to  those  who  paid  it,  and  who  have  most 
need  of  it,  and  are  honestly  entitled  to  it.  There  is  but  one 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  469 

safe  rule ; and  that  is,  to  confine  the  general  government 
rigidly  within  the  sphere  of  its  appropriate  duties.  It  has 
no  power  to  raise  a revenue  or  impose  taxes  except  for  the 
purposes  enumerated  in  the  Constitution  ; and  if  its  income 
is  found  to  exceed  these  wants,  it  should  be  forthwith  re- 
duced, and  the  burden  of  the  people  so  far  lightened. 

In  reviewing  the  conflicts  which  have  taken  place  between 
different  interests  in  the  United  States,  and  the  policy  pur- 
sued since  the  adoption  of  our  present  form  of  government, 
we  find  nothing  that  has  produced  such  deep-seated  evil  as 
the  course  of  legislation  in  relation  to  the  currency.  The 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  unquestionably  intended 
to  secure  to  the  people  a circulating  medium  of  gold  and 
silver.  But  the  establishment  of  a national  bank  by  Con- 
gress, with  the  privilege  of  issuing  paper  money  receivable 
in  the  payment  of  the  public  dues,  and  the  unfortunate 
course  of  legislation  in  the  several  States  upon  the  same 
subject,  drove  from  circulation  the  constitutional  currency, 
and  substituted  one  of  paper  in  its  place. 

It  was  not  easy  for  men  engaged  in  the  ordinary  pursuits 
of  business,  whose  attention  had  not  been  particularly  drawn 
to  the  subject,  to  foresee  all  the  consequences  of  a currency 
exclusively  of  paper;  and  we  ought  not,  on  that  account, 
to  be  surprised  at  the  facility  with  which  laws  were  obtained 
to  carry  into  effect  the  paper  system.  Honest  and  even 
enlightened  meu  are  sometimes  misled  by  the  specious  and 
plausible  statements  of  the  designing.  But  experience  has 
now  proved  the  mischiefs  and  dangers  of  a paper  currency ; 
and  it  rests  with  you  to  determine  whether  the  proper 
remedy  shall  be  applied. 

The  paper  system  being  founded  on  public  confidence, 
and  having  of  itself  no  intrinsic  value,  it  is  liable  to  great 
and  sudden  fluctuations  ; thereby  rendering  property  inse- 
cure, and  the  wages  of  labor  unsteady  and  uncertain.  The 
corporations  which  create  the  paper  money  cannot  be  relies 


470  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


upon  to  keep  the  circulating  medium  uniform  in  amount. 
In  times  of  prosperity,  when  confidence  is  high,  they  are 
tempted,  by  the  prospect  of  gain,  or  by  the  influence  of 
those  who  hope  to  profit  by  it,  to  extend  their  issues  of 
paper  beyond  the  bounds  of  discretion  and  the  reasonable 
demands  of  business.  And  when  these  issues  have  been 
pushed  on,  from  day  to  day,  until  public  confidence  is  at 
length  shaken,  then  a reaction  takes  place,  and  they  imme- 
diately withdraw  the  credits  they  have  given,  suddenly  cur- 
tail their  issues,  and  produce  an  unexpected  and  ruinous 
contraction  of  the  circulating  medium,  which  is  felt  by  the 
whole  community.  The  banks,  by  this  means,  save  them- 
selves, and  the  mischievous  consequences  of  their  impru- 
dence or  cupidity  are  visited  upon  the  public.  Nor  does 
the  evil  stop  here.  These  ebbs  and  flows  in  the  currency, 
and  these  indiscreet  extensions  of  credit,  naturally  engender 
a spirit  of  speculation  injurious  to  the  habits  and  character 
of  the  people.  We  have  already  seen  its  effects  in  the  wild 
spirit  of  speculation  in  the  public  lands  and  various  kinds 
of  stock,  which  within  the  last  year  or  two  seized  upon  such 
a multitude  of  our  citizens,  and  threatened  to  pervade  all 
classes  of  society,  and  to  withdraw  their  attention  from  the 
sober  pursuits  of  honest  industry.  It  is  not  by  encouraging 
this  spirit  that  we  shall  best  preserve  public  virtue  and 
promote  the  true  interests  of  our  country.  But  if  your 
currency  continues  as  exclusively  paper  as  it  now  is,  it  will 
foster  this  eager  desire  to  amass  wealth  without  labor ; it 
will  multiply  the  number  of  dependents  on  bank  accommo- 
dations and  bank  favors ; the  temptation  to  obtain  money 
at  any  sacrifice  will  become  stronger  and  stronger,  and 
inevitably  lead  to  corruption,  which  will  find  its  way  into 
your  public  councils,  and  destroy,  at  no  distant  day,  the 
purity  of  your  government.  Some  of  the  evils  which  arise 
from  this  system  of  paper,  press  with  peculiar  hardship  upon 
the  class  of  society  least  able  to  bear  it.  A portion  of  this 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  471 

currency  frequently  becomes  depreciated  or  worthless,  and 
all  of  it  is  easily  counterfeited  in  such  a manner  as  to  re- 
quire peculiar  skill  and  much  experience  to  distinguish  the 
counterfeit  from  the  genuine  note.  These  frauds  are  most 
generally  perpetrated  in  the  smaller  notes,  which  are  used 
in  the  daily  transactions  of  ordinary  business ; and  the 
losses  occasioned  by  them  are  commonly  thrown  upon  the 
laboring  classes  of  society,  whose  situation  and  pursuits 
put  it  out  of  their  power  to  guard  themselves  from  these 
impositions,  and  whose  daily  wages  are  necessary  for  their 
subsistence.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  government  so  to  regu- 
late its  currency  as  to  protect  this  numerous  class,  as  far  as 
practicable,  from  the  impositions  of  avarice  and  fraud.  It 
is  more  especially  the  duty  of  the  United  States,  where  the 
government  is  emphatically  the  government  of  the  people, 
and  where  this  respectable  portion  of  our  citizens  are  so 
proudly  distinguished  from  the  laboring  classes  of  all  other 
nations,  by  their  independent  spirit,  their  love  of  liberty, 
their  intelligence,  and  their  high  tone  of  moral  character. 
Their  industry,  in  peace,  is  the  source  of  our  wealth  ; and 
their  bravery,  in  war,  has  covered  us  with  glory ; and  the 
government  of  the  United  States  will  but  ill  discharge  its 
duties,  if  it  leaves  them  a prey  to  such  dishonest  imposi- 
tions. Yet  it  is  evident  that  their  interests  cannot  be 
effectually  protected,  unless  silver  and  gold  are  restored  to 
circulation. 

These  views  alone,  of  the  paper  currency,  are  sufficient  to 
call  for  immediate  reform  ; but  there  is  another  considera- 
tion which  should  still  more  strongly  press  it  upon  your 
attention. 

Recent  events  have  proved  that  the  paper-money  system 
of  this  country  may  be  used  as  an  engine  to  undermine  your 
free  institutions;  and  that  those  who  desire  to  engross  ail 
power  in  the  hands  of  the  few,  and  to  govern  by  corruption 
or  force,  are  aware  of  its  power,  and  prepared  to  employ  it. 


472  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


Yonr  banks  now  furnish  jour  only  circulating  medium,  and 
money  is  plenty  or  scarce,  according  to  the  quantity  of  notes 
issued  by  them.  While  they  have  capitals  not  greatly  dis- 
proportioned  to  each  other,  they  are  competitors  in  busi- 
ness, and  no  one  of  them  can  exercise  dominion  over  the 
rest ; and  although,  in  the  present  state  of  the  currency, 
these  banks  may  and  do  operate  injuriously  upon  the  habits 
of  business,  the  pecuniary  concerns,  and  the  moral  tone  of 
society,  yet,  from  their  number  arid  dispersed  situation,  they 
cannot  combine  for  the  purposes  of  political  influence;  and, 
whatever  may  be  the  dispositions  of  some  of  them,  their 
power  of  mischief  must  necessarily  be  confined  to  a narrow 
space,  and  felt  only  in  their  immediate  neighborhoods. 

But  when  the  charter  for  the  Bank  of  the  United  States 
was  obtained  from  Congress,  it  perfected  the  schemes  of  the 
paper  system,  and  gave  to  its  advocates  the  position  they 
have  struggled  to  obtain,  from  the  commencement  of  the 
federal  government  to  the  present  hour.  The  immense 
capital  and  peculiar  privileges  bestowed  upon  it  enabled  it 
to  exercise  despotic  sway  over  the  other  banks,  in  every 
part  of  the  country.  From  its  superior  strength,  it  could 
seriously  injure,  if  not  destroy,  the  business  of  any  one  of 
them  which  might  incur  its  resentment;  and  it  openly 
claimed  for  itself  the  power  of  regulating  the  currency 
throughout  the  United  States.  In  other  words,  it  asserted 
(and  it  undoubtedly  possessed)  the  power  to  make  money 
plenty  or  scarce,  at  its  pleasure,  at  any  time,  and  in  any 
quarter  of  the  Union,  by  controlling  the  issues  of  other 
banks,  and  permitting  an  expansion,  or  compelling  a gene- 
ral contraction,  of  the  circulating  medium,  according  to  its 
own  will.  The  other  banking  institutions  were  sensible  of 
its  strength,  and  they  soon  generally  became  its  obedient 
instruments,  ready  at  all  times  to  execute  its  mandates  ; 
and  with  the  banks  necessarily  went,  also,  that  numerous 
class  of  persons  in  our  commercial  cities  who  depend  alto- 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  478 

gether  on  bank  credits  for  their  solvency  and  means  of  busi- 
ness ; and  who  are  therefore  obliged,  for  their  own  safety, 
to  propitiate  the  favor  of  the  money  power  by  distinguished 
zeal  and  devotion  in  its  service.  The  result  of  the  ill- 
advised  legislation  which  established  this  great  monopoly 
was,  to  concentrate  the  whole  moneyed  power  of  the  Union, 
with  its  boundless  means  of  corruption  and  its  numerous 
dependents,  under  the  direction  and  command  of  one  ac- 
knowledged head  : thus  organizing  this  particular  interest 
as  one  body ; and  securing  to  it  unity  and  concert  of  action 
throughout  the  United  States,  and  enabling  it  to  bring  for- 
ward, upon  any  occasion,  its  entire  and  undivided  strength, 
to  support  or  defeat  any  measure  of  the  Government.  In 
the  hands  of  this  formidable  power,  thus  perfectly  organized, 
was  also  placed  unlimited  dominion  over  the  amount  of  the 
circulating  medium,  giving  it  the  power  to  regulate  the 
value  of  property  and  the  fruits  of  labor  in  every  quarter 
of  the  Union  ; and  to  bestow  prosperity  or  bring  ruin  upon 
any  city  or  section  of  the  country,  as  might  best  comport 
with  its  own  interest  or  policy. 

We  are  not  left  to  conjecture  how  the  moneyed  power, 
thus  organized,  and  with  such  a weapon  in  its  hands,  would 
be  likely  to  use  it.  The  distress  and  alarm  which  pervaded 
and  agitated  the  whole  country  when  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States  waged  war  upon  the  people,  in  order  to 
compel  them  to  submit  to  its  demands,  cannot  yet  be  for- 
gotten. The  ruthless  and  unsparing  temper  with  which 
whole  cities  and  communities  were  oppressed,  individuals 
impoverished  and  ruined,  and  a scene  of  cheerful  prosperity 
suddenly  changed  into  one  of  gloom  and  despondency, 
ought  to  be  indelibly  impressed  on  the  memory  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States.  If  such  was  its  power  in  a 
time  of  peace,  what  would  it  not  have  been  in  a season  of 
war,  with  an  enemy  at  your  doors?  No  nation  but  the 
freemen  of  the  United  States  could  have  come  out  vie- 


474  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


torious  from  such  a contest;  yet,  if  you  had  not  conquered, 
the  government  would  have  passed  from  the  hands  of  the 
many  to  the  hands  of  the  few ; and  this  organized  money 
power,  from  its  secret  conclave,  would  have  dictated  the 
choice  of  your  highest  offices,  and  compelled  you  to  make 
peace  or  war,  as  best  suited  their  own  wishes.  The  forms 
of  your  government  might,  for  a time,  have  remained,  but 
its  living  spirit  would  have  departed  from  it. 

The  distress  and  sufferings  inflicted  on  the  people  by  the 
bank  are  some  of  the  fruits  of  that  system  of  policy  which  is 
continually  striving  to  enlarge  the  authority  of  the  federal 
government  beyond  the  limits  fixed  by  the  Constitution. 
The  powers  enumerated  in  that  instrument  do  not  confer 
on  Congress  the  right  to  establish  such  a corporation  as 
the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  and  the  evil  consequences 
which  followed  may  warn  us  of  the  danger  of  departing 
from  the  true  rule  of  construction,  and  of  permitting  tem- 
porary circumstances,  or  the  hope  of  better  promoting  the 
public  welfare,  to  influence,  in  any  degree,  our  decisions 
upon  the  extent  of  the  authority  of  the  general  government. 
Let  us  abide  by  the  Constitution  as  it  is  written,  or  amend 
it,  in  the  constitutional  mode,  if  it  is  found  to  be  defective. 

The  severe  lessons  of  experience  will,  I doubt  not,  be 
sufficient  to  prevent  Congress  from  again  chartering  such  a 
monopoly,  even  if  the  Constitution  did  not  present  an  insu- 
perable objection  to  it.  But  you  must  remember,  my  fellow- 
citizens,  that  eternal  vigilance  by  the  people  is  the  price  of 
liberty  ; and  that  you  must  pay  the  price  if  you  wish  to 
secure  the  blessing.  It  behooves  you,  therefore,  to  be 
watchful  in  your  States,  as  well  as  in  the  federal  govern- 
ment. The  power  which  the  moneyed  interest  can  exer- 
cise, when  concentrated  under  a single  head,  and  with  our 
present  system  of  currency,  was  sufficiently  demonstrated  in 
the  struggle  made  by  the  Bank  of  the  United  States. 
Defeated  in  the  general  government,  the  same  class  of  in- 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  475 

triguers  and  politicians  will  now  resort  to  the  States,  and 
endeavor  to  obtain  there  the  same  organization  which  they 
failed  to  perpetuate  in  the  Union  ; and  with  specious  and 
deceitful  plans  of  public  advantages,  and  State  interests, 
and  State  pride,  they  will  endeavor  to  establish,  in  the 
different  States,  one  moneyed  institution,  with  overgrown 
capital,  and  exclusive  privileges,  sufficient  to  enable  it  to 
control  the  operations  of  the  other  banks.  Such  an  insti- 
tution will  be  pregnant  with  the  same  evils  produced  by  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States,  although  its  sphere  of  action  is 
more  confined  ; and,  in  the  State  in  which  it  is  chartered, 
the  money  power  will  be  able  to  embody  its  whole  strength, 
and  to  move  together  with  undivided  force  to  accomplish 
any  object  it  may  wish  to  attain.  You  have  already  had 
abundant  evidence  of  its  power  to  inflict  injury  upon  the 
agricultural,  mechanical,  and  laboring  classes  of  society  ; 
and  over  those  whose  engagements  in  trade  or  speculation 
render  them  dependent  on  bank  facilities,  the  dominion  of 
the  State  monopoly  will  be  absolute,  and  their  obedience 
unlimited.  With  such  a bank  and  a paper  currency,  the 
money  power  would,  in  a few  years,  govern  the  State  and 
control  its  measures  ; and,  if  a sufficient  number  of  States 
can  be  induced  to  create  such  establishments,  the  time  will 
soon  come  when  it  will  again  take  the  field  against  the 
United  States,  and  succeed  in  perfecting  and  perpetuating 
its  organization  by  a charter  from  Congress. 

It  is  one  of  the  serious  evils  of  our  present  system  of 
banking,  that  it  enables  one  class  of  society,  and  that  by 
no  means  a numerous  one,  by  its  control  over  the  currency, 
to  act  injuriously  upon  the  interests  of  all  the  others,  and 
to  exercise  more  than  its  just  proportion  of  influence  in  po- 
litical affairs.  The  agricultural,  the  mechanical,  and  the 
laboring  classes,  have  little  or  no  share  in  the  direction  of 
the  great  moneyed  corporations ; and,  from  their  habits, 
and  the  nature  of  their  pursuits,  they  are  incapable  of  form- 


476  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

ing  extensive  combinations  to  act  together  with  united 
force.  Such  concert  of  action  may  sometimes  be  produced 
in  a single  city,  or  in  a small  district  of  country,  by  means 
of  personal  communications  with  each  other;  but  they  have 
no  regular  or  active  correspondence  with  those  who  are  en- 
gaged in  similar  pursuits  in  distant  places ; they  have  but 
little  patronage  to  give  to  the  press,  and  exercise  but  a 
small  share  of  influence  over  it;  they  have  no  crowd  of  de- 
pendents about  them,  who  hope  to  grow  rich  without  labor, 
by  their  countenance  and  favor,  and  who  are,  therefore, 
always  ready  to  execute  their  wishes.  The  planter,  the 
farmer,  the  mechanic,  and  the  laborer,  all  know  that  their 
success  depends  upon  their  own  industry  and  economy,  and 
that  they  must  not  expect  to  become  suddenly  rich  by  the 
fruits  of  their  toil.  Yet  these  classes  of  society  form  the 
great  body  of  the  people  of  the  United  States;  they  are 
the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  country  ; men  who  love  liberty, 
and  desire  nothing  but  equal  rights  and  equal  laws ; 
and  who,  moreover,  hold  the  great  mass  of  our  national 
wealth,  although  it  is  distributed  in  moderate  amounts 
among  the  millions  of  freemen  who  possess  it.  But,  with 
overwhelming  numbers  and  wealth  on  their  side,  they  are 
in  constant  danger  of  losing  their  fair  influence  in  the 
government,  and  with  difficulty  maintain  their  just  rights 
against  the  incessant  efforts  daily  made  to  encroach  upon 
them.  The  mischief  springs  from  the  power  which  the 
moneyed  interest  derives  from  a paper  currency,  which  they 
are  able  to  control ; from  the  multitude  of  corporations, 
with  exclusive  privileges,  which  they  have  succeeded  in 
obtaining  in  the  different  States,  and  which  are  employed 
altogether  for  their  benefit ; and,  unless  you  become  more 
watchful  in  your  States,  and  check  this  spirit  of  monopoly 
and  thirst  for  exclusive  privileges,  you  will,  in  the  end,  find 
that  the  most  important  powers  of  government  have  beeu 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  477 

given  or  bartered  away,  and  the  control  over  your  dearest 
interests  has  passed  into  the  hands  of  these  corporations. 

The  paper-money  system  and  its  natural  associations — 
monopoly  and  exclusive  privileges — have  already  struck  their 
roots  too  deep  in  the  soil ; and  it  will  require  all  your  efforts 
to  check  its  further  growth,  and  to  eradicate  the  evil.  The 
men  who  profit  by  the  abuses,  and  desire  to  perpetuate 
them,  will  continue  to  besiege  the  halls  of  legislation  in  the 
general  government  as  well  as  in  the  States,  and  will  seek, 
by  every  artifice,  to  mislead  and  deceive  the  public  servants. 
It  is  to  yourselves  that  you  must  look  for  safety,  and  the 
means  of  guarding  and  perpetuating  your  free  institutions. 
In  your  hands  is  rightfully  placed  the  sovereignty  of  the 
country,  and  to  you  every  one  placed  in  authority  is  ulti- 
mately responsible.  It  is  always  in  your  power  to  see  that 
the  wishes  of  the  people  are  carried  into  faithful  execution, 
and  their  will,  when  once  made  known,  must,  sooner  or  later, 
be  obeyed.  And  while  the  people  remain,  as  I trust  they 
ever  will,  uncorrupted  and  incorruptible,  and  continue 
watchful  and  jealous  of  their  rights,  the  government  is  safe, 
and  the  cause  of  freedom  will  continue  to  triumph  over  all 
its  enemies. 

But  it  will  require  steady  and  persevering  exertions  on 
your  part  to  rid  yourselves  of  the  iniquities  and  mischiefs  of 
the  paper  system,  and  to  check  the  spirit  of  mouoply  and 
other  abuses  which  have  sprung  up  with  it,  and  of  which  it 
is  the  main  support.  So  many  interests  are  united  to  resist 
all  reform  on  this  subject,  that  you  must  not  hope  the  con- 
i’ict  will  be  a short  one,  nor  success  easy.  My  humble 
efforts  have  not  been  spared,  during  ray  administration  of 
the  government,  to  restore  the  constitutional  currency  of 
gold  and  silver ; and  something,  I trust,  has  been  done  to- 
wards the  accomplishment  of  this  most  desirable  object. 
But  enough  yet  remains  to  require  all  your  energy  and  per- 
severance. The  power,  however,  is  in  your  hands,  and 


478  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 


the  remedy  must  and  will  be  applied,  if  you  determine  upon 
it. 

While  I am  thus  endeavoring  to  press  upon  your  attention 
the  principles  which  I deem  of  vital  importance  in  the  do- 
mestic concerns  of  the  country,  I ought  not  to  pass  over, 
without  notice,  the  important  considerations  which  should 
govern  your  policy  towards  foreign  powers.  It  is  unques- 
tionably, our  true  interest  to  cultivate  the  most  friendly 
understanding  with  every  nation,  and  to  avoid,  by  every 
honorable  means,  the  calamities  of  war;  and  we  shall  best 
attain  this  object  by  frankness  and  sincerity  in  our  foreign 
intercourse,  by  the  prompt  and  faithful  execution  of  treaties, 
and  by  justice  and  impartiality  in  our  conduct  to  all.  But 
no  nation,  however  desirous  of  peace,  can  hope  to  escape 
occasional  collisions  with  other  powers  ; and  the  soundest 
dictates  of  policy  require  that  we  should  place  ourselves  in 
a condition  to  assert  our  rights,  if  a resort  to  force  should 
ever  become  necessary.  Our  local  situation,  our  long  line 
of  sea-coast,  indented  by  numerous  bays,  with  deep  rivers 
opening  into  the  interior,  as  well  as  our  extended  and  still 
increasing  commerce,  point  to  the  navy  as  our  natural  means 
of  defense.  It  will,  in  the  end,  be  found  to  be  the  cheapest 
and  most  effectual ; and  now  is  the  time,  in  a season  of 
peace,  and  with  an  overflowing  revenue,  that  we  can,  year 
after  year,  add  to  its  strength,  without  increasing  the  burdens 
of  the  people.  It  is  your  true  policy.  For  your  navy  will 
not  only  protect  your  rich  and  flourishing  commerce  in  dis- 
tant seas,  but  will  enable  you  to  reach  and  annoy  the  enemy, 
and  will  give  to  defense  its  greatest  efficiency,  by  meeting 
danger  at  a distance  from  home.  It  is  impossible,  by  any 
line  of  fortifications,  to  guard  every  point  from  attack  against 
a hostile  force  advancing  from  the  ocean  and  selecting  its 
object ; but  they  are  indispensable  to  protect  cities  from 
bombardment,  dock  yards  and  naval  arsenals  from  destruc- 
tion ; to  give  shelter  to  merchant  vessels  in  time  of  war, 


INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES.  479 


nncl  to  single  ships  or  weaker  squadrons  when  pressed  by 
superior  force.  Fortifications  of  this  description  cannot  be 
too  soon  completed  and  armed,  and  placed  in  a condition  of 
the  most  perfect  preparation.  The  abundant  means  we 
now  possess  cannot  be  applied  in  any  manner  more  useful 
to  the  country  ; and  when  this  is  done,  and  our  naval  force 
sufficiently  strengthened,  and  our  militia  armed,  we  need 
not  fear  that  any  nation  will  wantonly  insult  us,  or  needlessly 
provoke  hostilities.  We  shall  more  certainly  preserve  peace, 
when  it  is  well  understood  that  we  are  prepared  for  war. 

In  presenting  to  you,  my  fellow-citizens,  these  parting 
counsels,  I have  brought  before  you  the  leading  principles 
upon  which  I endeavored  to  administer  the  government  in 
the  high  office  with  which  you  twice  honored  me.  Know- 
ing that  the  path  of  freedom  is  continually  beset  by  ene- 
mies, who  often  assume  the  disguise  of  friends,  I have 
devoted  the  last  hours  of  my  public  life  to  warn  you  of  the 
dangers.  The  progress  of  the  United  States,  under  our 
free  and  happy  institutions,  has  surpassed  the  most  sanguine 
hopes  of  the  founders  of  the  republic.  Our  growth  has 
been  rapid  beyond  all  former  example,  in  numbers,  in 
wealth,  in  knowledge,  and  all  the  useful  arts  which  con- 
tribute to  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  man  ; and  from 
the  earliest  ages  of  history  to  the  present  day,  there  never 
have  been  thirteen  millions  of  people  associated  in  one  po- 
litical body,  who  enjoyed  so  much  freedom  aud  happiness 
as  the  people  of  these  United  States.  You  have  no  longer 
any  cause  to  fear  danger  from  abroad  ; your  strength  and 
power  are  well  known  throughout  the  civilized  world,  as 
well  as  the  high  and  gallant  bearing  of  your  sons.  It  is 
from  within,  among  yourselves,  from  cupidity,  from  corrup- 
tion, from  disappointed  ambition,  and  inordinate  thirst  for 
power,  that  factions  will  be  formed,  and  liberty  endangered. 
It  is  agaiust  such  designs,  whatever  disguise  the  actors  may 
assume,  that  you  have  especially  to  guard  yourselves.  You 


4S0  INAUGURAL  AND  FAREWELL  ADDRESSES. 

have  the  highest  of  human  trusts  committed  to  your  care. 
Providence  has  showered  on  this  favored  land  blessings 
without  number,  and  has  chosen  you,  as  the  guardians  of 
freedom,  to  preserve  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  human  race. 
May  He  who  holds  in  his  hands  the  destinies  of  nations, 
make  you  worthy  of  the  favors  he  has  bestowed,  and  enable 
you,  with  pure  hearts  and  pure  hands,  and  sleepless  vigi- 
lance, to  guard  and  defend,  to  the  end  of  time,  the  great 
charge  he  has  committed  to  your  keeping. 

My  own  race  is  nearly  run  ; advanced  age  and  failing 
health  warn  me  that  before  long  I must  pass  beyond  the 
reach  of  human  events,  and  cease  to  feel  the  vicissitudes  of 
human  affairs.  I thauk  God  that  my  life  has  been  spent  in 
a land  of  liberty,  and  that  he  has  given  me  a heart  to  love 
my  country  with  the  affection  of  a son.  And,  filled  with 
gratitude  for  your  constant  and  unwavering  kindness,  I 
bid  you  a last  and  affectionate  farewell. 

ANDREW  JACKSON. 


March  4,  1837 


CHAPTER  XV. 


THE  KANSAS-NEBRASKA  BILL. 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  Congress  in  December, 

1853,  a Bill  for  the  organization  of  the  Territories  of  Kan- 
sas and  Nebraska,  was  introduced  in  the  Senate,  and  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Territories,  of  which  Senator  Douglas, 
of  Illinois,  was  chairman.  On  the  4th  day  of  January, 

1854,  the  committee  reported  a substitute  for  the  entire  Bill, 
together  with  a report,  which,  after  reviewing  the  various 
provisions  of  the  Bill,  concluded  as  follows: 

“ From  these  provisions  it  is  apparent  that  the  compro- 
mise measures  of  1850  affirm  and  rest  upon  the  following 
propositions : 

“ First.  That  all  questions  pertaining  to  slavery  in  the 
territories,  and  in  the  new  States  to  be  formed  therefrom, 
are  to  be  left  to  the  decision  of  the  people  residing  therein, 
by  their  appropriate  representatives,  to  be  chosen  by  them 
for  that  purpose. 

“ Second.  That  all  cases  involving  title  to  slaves  and 
questions  of  personal  freedom,  are  referred  to  the  adjudica- 
tion of  the  local  tribunals,  with  the  right  of  appeal  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

“ Third.  That  the  provision  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  in  respect  to  fugitives  from  service,  is  to  be 
carried  into  faithful  execution  in  all  the  organized  territo- 
ries, the  same  as  in  the  States.  The  substitute  for  the  Bill 
which  your  committee  have  prepared,  and  which  is  com- 
mended to  the  favorable  action  of  the  Senate,  proposes  to 
carry  these  propositions  and  principles  into  practical  ope- 
31  (481) 


482 


THE  KANSAS-R'EBRASKA  BILL. 


ration,  in  the  precise  language  of  the  compromise  measures 
of  1850.” 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  report  based  the  Bill  upon 
the  compromise  of  1850,  so  far  as  the  question  of  slavery 
was  concerned,  and  hence  it  becomes  necessary  to  refer  to 
those  measures,  to  determine  what  principle  was  settled  by 
them. 

On  the  29th  of  January,  1850,  while  the  slavery  agitation 
was  raging  with  great  violence,  threatening,  indeed,  the  very 
existence  of  the  government,  Mr.  Clay  introduced  into  the 
Senate  several  resolutions  upon  the  subject  of  slavery,  in- 
tended to  form  a basis  of  settlement  upon  that  subject. 
"While  these  resolutions  were  pending,  the  Committee  on 
Territories  reported  a Bill  for  the  admission  of  California  as 
a State,  and  one  for  the  organization  of  the  Territories  of 
Utah  and  New  Mexico,  and  the  adjustment  of  the  Texas 
boundary.  On  the  19th  of  April  a select  committee  of 
thirteen  was  appointed,  of  which  Mr.  Clay  was  chairman, 
and  to  that  committee  was  referred  the  various  propositions 
before  the  Senate.  On  the  8th  of  May,  Mr.  Clay,  from  the 
committee  of  thirteen,  submitted  to  the  Senate  a report,  ac- 
companied by  a bill,  containing  the  essential  features  of  the 
two  bills  previously  submitted  by  the  Committee  on  Terri- 
tories, excepting  as  to  the  powers  of  the  territorial  legisla- 
ture over  slavery.  The  tenth  section  of  the  bill  reported 
by  the  Committee  on  Territories  read  as  follows  : 

“And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  legislative  power 
of  the  territory  shall  extend  to  all  rightful  subjects  of  legis- 
lation consistent  with  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
and  the  provisions  of  this  act ; but  no  law  shall  be  passed 
interfering  with  the  primary  disposition  of  the  soil.” 

To  which  Mr.  Clay’s  committee  added  these  words : 
“ nor  in  respect  to  African  slavery .” 

On  the  31st  of  July,  the  above  clause  added  by  Mr.  Clay, 
was  struck  out  by  the  Senate,  thus  conferring  on  the  Terri- 


1HS  KANSAS-NEBRASKA  BILL. 


48 


tonal  Legislature  power  over  “all  rightful  subjects  of  legisla- 
tion  consistent  with  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.” 

We  have  thus  arrived  at  the  meaning  of  the  report,  accom- 
panying the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  from  the  committee  to 
the  Senate,  ou  the  4th  of  January,  1854,  when  they  say  that 
the  Bill  “proposes  to  carry  these  propositions  and  principles 
into  practical  operation  in  the  precise  language  of  the  com- 
promise measures  of  1850.”  It  is  proper  here  to  say,  that 
when  the  compromise  of  1850  was  before  the  Senate,  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  engraft  upon  it  an  amendment,  declaring 
in  substance,  that  the  territorial  legislature  could  not  pro- 
hibit the  introduction  of  slaves — that  slaves  were  recognized 
as  property  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and 
hence  were  entitled  to  the  same  protection  as  other  property. 
Many  Southern  Senators  took  this  view  of  the  question  ; 
while,  upon  the  other  hand,  Messrs.  Seward,  Chase,  and 
others  from  the  North,  advocated  the  power  of  Congress  to 
prohibit  slavery  in  the  territories,  and  offered  amendments 
to  that  import.  The  Bill  passed  the  Senate,  however,  in 
the  shape  already  referred  to,  by  a vote  of  82  to  19. 

When  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  came  before  the  Senate 
for  discussion,  it  was  contended  by  some,  that,  in  the  shape 
it  then  was,  it  could  not  be  carried  into  practical  operation, 
inasmuch  as  it  did  not,  in  terms,  repeal  the  act  of  Congress 
of  March  6th,  1820,  prohibiting  slavery  north  of  36°  30', 
commonly,  but  mistakenly,  called  the  Missouri  compromise. 
We  say,  mistakenly  called  the  Missouri  compromise,  be- 
cause the  compromise  under  which  that  State  was  admitted 
into  the  Union  was  passed  in  1821,  while  the  section  pro- 
hibiting slavery  north  of  36°  30'  was  a part  of  an  enabling 
act  for  the  admission  of  Missouri,  passed  in  1820,  but 
which  really  had  nothing  to  do  with  its  final  admission. 
This  fact,  however,  is  immaterial,  in  point  of  principle,  and 
we  allude  to  it  only  to  correct  a popular  error. 

The  question  having  thus  arisen  as  to  the  prohibition  of 


484 


THE  KANSAS-NEBRASKA  BILL. 


slavery  north  of  36°  30',  Mr.  Douglas,  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  Territories,  proposed  an  amendment,  which 
was  incorporated  into  the  bill,  as  follows — the  proviso  at  the 
close  of  the  section  being  adopted  on  motion  of  Mr. 
Badger,  of  North  Carolina: 

“ That  the  Constitution,  and  all  laws  of  the  United  States 
which  are  not  locally  inapplicable,  shall  have  the  same  force 
and  effect  within  the  said  Territory  of  Nebraska  as  else- 
where in  the  United  States,  except  the  eighth  section  of 
the  act  preparatory  to  the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the 
Un  ion,  approved  March  sixth,  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty, 
which,  being  inconsistent  with  the  principle  of  non-interven- 
tion by  Congress  with  slavery  in  the  States  and  Territories, 
as  recognized  by  the  legislation  of  eighteen  hundred  and 
fifty,  commonly  called  the  compromise  measures,  is  hereby 
declared  inoperative  and  void  ; it  being  the  true  intent  and 
meaning  of  this  act,  not  to  legislate  slavery  into  any  Terri- 
tory or  State,  nor  to  exclude  it  therefrom,  but  to  leave  the 
people  thereof  perfectly  free  to  form  and  regulate  their  do- 
mestic institutions  in  their  own  way,  subject  only  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States:  Provided,  That  nothing 
herein  contained  shall  be  construed  to  revive  or  put  in  force 
any  law  or  regulation  which  may  have  existed  prior  to  the 
act  of  sixth  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty,  either 
protecting,  establishing,  prohibiting  or  abolishing  slavery.” 

When  this  amendment  was  presented  to  the  Senate  it  be- 
came the  signal  for  opening  anew  the  slavery  agitation  with 
redoubled  fury.  It  was  opposed  by  the  anti-slavery  senti- 
ment of  the  North  as  a violation  of  a solemn  compact ; — as 
an  attempt  to  tear  down  a sacred  barrier  between  freedom 
and  slavery  for  the  purpose  of  spreading  that  institution 
over  the  virgin  soil  of  the  country.  On  the  other  hand  it 
was  contended  that  it  was  necessary  in  order  to  give  full 
effect  to  the  compromise  of  1850;  the  spirit  and  intent  of 
which  was  to  withdraw  from  Congress  all  control  over  the 


THE  KAXSAS-XEB BASK  A BILL. 


485 


question  of  slavery  in  the  territories,  and  leave  the  people 
therein  free  to  act  as  they  pleased.  We  give  no  debates 
upon  the  bill  for  the  reason  that  they  are  now,  in  extenso, 
within  the  reach  and  remembrance  of  all  who  take  any  in- 
terest in  the  matter.  The  bill  passed  the  Senate  on  the  3d 
day  of  March,  1854,  by  the  following  vote  : 

Yeas — Messrs.  Adams,  Atchison,  Badger,  Bayard,  Ben- 
jamin, Brodhead,  Brown,  Butler,  Cass,  Clay,  Dawson, 
Dixon,  Dodge  of  Iowa,  Douglas,  Evans,  Fitzpatrick, 
G-eyer,  Gwin,  Hunter,  Johnson,  Jones  of  Iowa,  Jones  of 
Tennessee,  Mason,  Morton,  Norris,  Pettit,  Pratt,  Rusk, 
Sebastian,  Shields,  Slidell,  Stuart,  Thompson  of  Kentucky, 
Thompson  of  New  Jersey,  Toucey,  Weller,  and  Williams, 
—37. 

Nays — Messrs.  Bell,  Chase,  Dodge  of  Wisconsin,  Fes- 
senden, Fish,  Foot,  Hamlin,  Houston,  James,  Seward, 
Smith,  Sumner,  Wade,  and  Walker, — 14. 

It  was  delayed  in  the  House  till  the  23d  day  of  May, 
when  it  passed  that  body,  striking  out  what  was  called  the 
Clayton  amendment,  restricting  the  rights  of  aliens  so  far  us 
suffrage  was  concerned. 

The  following  is  the  vote  in  the  House 


Yeas. 

Nays. 

Democrats  from  Slave  States 

53 

4 

“ “ Free  “ 

43 

46 

Whigs  from  Slave  States 

13 

5 

“ “ Free  “ 

— 

41 

Total, 

109 

100 

It  was  returned  to  the  Senate,  and  on  the  25th  of  May, 
the  House  amendment  was  concurred  in  by  a vote  of  36  to 
13.  On  the  30th  of  May,  it  was  signed  by  the  President, 
and  thus  became  the  law  under  which  those  territories  were 
organized. 

It  would  seem  that  both  the  North  and  the  South  construed 


186 


THE  KANSAS-NEBBASKA  BILL. 


the  Kansas-Ncbraska  Bill  alike,  so  far  as  the  slavery  ques- 
tion was  concerned,  at  the  time  of  its  passage, — that  the 
intention  of  Congress  was  to  give  to  the  people  of  the  ter- 
ritories full  power  to  dispose  of  this  as  well  as  other  ques- 
tions. It  is  now,  however,  contended  by  many,  especially 
in  the  South,  that  such  power  cannot  be  exercised  by  a 
territorial  legislature — that  slavery  may  exist  in  the  territo- 
ries, under  the  protection  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  which  recognizes  it  as  property  and  is  bound  to 
protect  all  species  of  property  alike.  For  this  they  rely 
upon  the  following  points  in  the  decision  of  the  Court  in 
the  Dred  Scott  case. 

“1.  Congress  can  exercise  no  power  over  the  rights  of 
persons  or  property  of  a citizen  in  the  Territory  which  is 
prohibited  by  the  Constitution.  The  government  and  the 
citizen,  whenever  the  Territory  is  open  to  settlement,  both 
enter  it  with  their  respective  rights  defined  and  limited  by 
the  Constitution. 

“ 2.  Congress  have  no  right  to  prohibit  the  citizens  of  any 
particular  State  or  States  from  taking  up  their  home  there, 
while  it  permits  citizens  of  other  States  to  do  so.  Nor  has 
it  a right  to  give  privileges  to  one  class  of  citizens  which  it 
refuses  to  another.  The  Territory  is  acquired  for  their 
equal  and  common  benefit — and  if  open  to  any,  it  must  be 
open  to  all  upon  equal  and  the  same  terms. 

“ 3.  Every  citizen  has  a right  to  take  with  him  into  the 
Tenitory  any  article  of  property  which  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  recognizes  as  property. 

“ 4.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  recognizes 
slaves  as  property,  and  pledges  the  federal  government  to 
protect  it.  And  Congress  cannot  exercise  any  more  autho- 
rity over  property  of  that  description  than  it  may  constitu- 
tionally exercise  over  property  of  any  other  kind. 

“ 5.  The  act  of  Congress,  therefore,  prohibiting  a citizen 
of  the  United  States  from  taking  with  him  his  slaves  when  he 


THE  KANSAS -NEB  RASE  A BILL. 


487 


removes  to  the  Territory  in  question  to  reside,  is  an  exercise 
of  authority  over  private  property  which  is  not  warranted 
by  the  Constitution.” 

To  this  it  is  replied,  that  while  it  is  true  that  the  owner 
of  slaves  may  take  them  to  a Territory  as  property,  still  he 
must  submit  to  the  local  law  of  the  Territory  when  he  gets 
them  there,  be  it  friendly  or  otherwise. 

Thus  is  the  sentiment  of  the  country  divided  into  three 
great  partfes,  which  may  be  properly  designated  the  Prohi- 
bitionists, the  Protectionists  and  the  Non-interventionists. 
The  prospect  for  a speedy  and  peaceful  settlement  of  the 
vexed  question  is  by  no  means  encouraging.  Would  that 
it  were;  for  we  presume  no  one  will  deny  that  the  continued 
agitation  of  this  delicate  and  disturbing  question  is  a great 
public  misfortune.  It  destroys  fraternal  relations  between 
the  States  and  embitters  the  minds  of  the  people.  It  creates 
sectional  discords  and  divisions,  disturbs  the  national  coun- 
cils, and  is  gradually  but  surely  alienating  the  affections  of 
the  citizens  from  their  government.  The  political  energies 
of  the  country,  that  should  be  spent  in  building  up  those 
great  commercial,  industrial,  moral,  and  social  institutions 
which  constitute  the  monuments  of  national  greatness  and 
power,  are  exhausted  in  the  business  of  engendering  internal 
hatred,  contentions  and  strife.  Let  it  be  the  effort  of  every 
patriot  to  do  away  with  this  deplorable  state  of  things, — to 
settle  this  question  by  the  safe  and  wise  principles  our  fathers 
established,  there  to  rest  forever  undisturbed.  Only  thus 
will  peace  and  harmony  again  be  restored  to  the  country — 
only  thus  shall  we  present  to  the  world  the  spectacle  of  a 
great,  free,  and  happy  people,  united  as  one  family  in  in- 
terest, in  affection,  and  aim  ; ever  moving  onward  in  the 
pathway  of  prosperity  and  progress,  as  well  as  in  all  that 
contitutes  national  greatness,  glory,  and  renown. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 


NATIONAL  CONVENTIONS. 

The  first  National  Conventions  of  delegates  elected  by 
the  people  to  nominate  candidates  for  President  and  Vice- 
President,  were  held  in  1840.  Both  the  Whig  and  Demo- 
cratic parties  nominated  in  that  way  for  that  campaign. 
Previous  to  that  period  nominations  were  made  by  caucuses 
called  by  the  members  of  Congress,  in  which  they  only  were 
admitted  to  vote.  Alleged  abuses  and  intrigues  led  to  the 
change  of  nominating,  by  delegates  chosen  from  each  con- 
gressional district.  Up  to  1848,  no  issue  in  reference  to 
slavery  seems  to  have  been  raised  between  the  parties  in 
their  platforms  ; or,  rather,  up  to  that  time  no  necessity 
seems  to  have  arisen  for  the  conventions  to  take  particular 
notice  of  the  subject.  In  the  midst  of  the  slavery  agitation 
of  that  year,  the  two  parties  held  their  conventions.  The 
Whig  party  nominated  Gen.  Zachary  Taylor  for  President, 
and  Millard  Fillmore  for  Vice-President,  and  adjourned 
without  laying  down  any  platform.  The  Democratic  con- 
vention nominated  General  Lewis  Cass  for  President,  and 
General  William  0.  Butler  for  Vice-President,  and  passed 
the  following  resolution  on  the  question  of  slavery  : 

“ Resolved,  That  Congress  has  no  power  under  the  Con- 
stitution to  interfere  with  or  control  the  domestic  institu- 
tions of  the  several  States,  and  that  such  States  are  the  sole 
and  proper  judges  of  everything  appertaining  to  their  own 
affairs,  not  prohibited  by  the  Constitution  ; that  all  efforts 
of  the  abolitionists,  or  others,  made  to  induce  Congress 
to  interfere  with  questions  of  slavery,  or  to  take  incipient 
(4881 


NATIONAL  CONVENTIONS. 


489 


steps  in  relation  thereto,  are  calculated  to  lead  to  the  most 
alarming  and  dangerous  consequences  ; and  that  all  such 
efforts  have  an  inevitable  tendency  to  diminish  the  happi- 
ness of  the  people,  and  endanger  the  stability  and  perma- 
nency of  the  Union,  and  ought  not  to  be  countenanced  by 
any  friend  of  our  political  institutions.” 

In  1852,  the  Democratic  convention  at  Baltimore  nom- 
inated General  Franklin  Pierce  for  President,  and  William 
R.  King  for  Yice-President,  and  adopted  the  following 
resolutions  referring  to  slavery  : 

“ Resolved,  That  Congress  has  no  power  under  the  Con- 
stitution to  interfere  with  or  control  the  domestic  institu- 
tions of  the  several  States,  and  that  such  States  are  the  sole 
and  proper  judges  of  everything  appertaining  to  their  own 
affairs,  not  prohibited  by  the  Constitution  ; that  all  efforts 
of  the  abolitionists,  or  others,  made  to  induce  Congress  to 
interfere  with  questions  of  slavery,  or  to  take  incipient  steps 
in  relation  thereto,  are  calculated  to  lead  to  the  most  alarm- 
ing and  dangerous  consequences  ; and  that  all  such  efforts 
have  an  inevitable  tendency  to  diminish  the  happiness  of 
the  people,  and  endanger  the  stability  and  permanency  of 
the  Union,  and  ought  not  to  be  countenanced  by  any  friend 
of  our  public  institutions. 

“ Resolved,  That  the  foregoing  proposition  covers,  and 
was  intended  to  embrace,  the  whole  subject  of  slavery  agi- 
tation in  Congress,  and  therefore  the  Democratic  party  of 
the  Union,  standing  on  this  national  platform,  will  abide 
by,  and  adhere  to,  a faithful  execution  of  the  acts  known  as 
the  compromise  measures,  settled  by  the  last  Congress — the 
act  for  reclaiming  fugitives  from  service  or  labor  included  ; 
which,  being  designed  to  carry  out  an  express  provision  of 
the  Constitution,  cannot  with  fidelity  thereto  be  repealed, 
or  so  changed  as  to  destroy  or  impair  its  efficiency.” 

The  Whig  convention,  at  Baltimore,  soon  after,  nomi- 
nated General  Winfield  Scott  for  President,  and  William 


490 


NATIONAL  CONVENTIONS. 


R.  Granam  for  Vice  President,  and  adopted  the  following 
as  their  views.  This  was  the  last  national  convention  ever 
held  by  that  party  : 

“ Resolved,  That  the  series  of  resolutions  known  as  the 
compromise,  including  the  fugitive  slave  law,  are  received 
and  acquiesced  in  by  the  Whig  party  of  the  United  States 
as  a settlement  in  principle  and  substance — a final  settle- 
ment— of  the  dangerous  and  exciting  subjects  which  they 
embrace  ; and  so  far  as  the  fugitive  slave  law  is  concerned, 
we  will  maintain  the  same,  and  insist  on  its  strict  enforce- 
ment until  time  and  experience  shall  demonstrate  the  neces- 
sity of  further  legislation  against  evasion  or  abuses,  but  not 
impairing  its  efficacy  ; and  we  deprecate  all  future  agitation 
of  the  slavery  question  as  dangerous  to  the  peace,  and  we 
will  discountenance  all  efforts  at  the  renewal  or  continuance 
of  such  agitation  in  Congress,  or  out  of  it,  whenever,  wher- 
ever, or  howsoever  the  attempt  may  be  made,  and  will  main- 
tain this  system  of  measures  as  policy  essential  to  the  nation- 
ality of  the  Whig  party  and  the  integrity  of  the  Union.” 

In  1856,  the  Democratic  convention  at  Cincinnati  nomi- 
nated James  Buchanan  for  President,  and  John  C.  Brecken- 
ridge  for  Vice-President,  and  adopted  the  following  resolu- 
tion on  the  slavery  question  : 

“ Resolved , That  the  American  Democracy  recognize  and 
adopt  the  principles  contained  in  the  organic  laws  estab- 
lishing the  Territories  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  as  embody- 
ing the  only  sound  and  safe  solution  of  the  ‘slavery  ques- 
tion,’ upon  which  the  great  national  idea  of  the  people  of 
this  whole  country  can  repose  in  its  determined  conservatism 
of  the  Union, — non-interference  by  Congress  with  slavery  in 
State  and  Territory,  or  in  the  District  of  Columbia 

“That  this  was  the  basis  of  the  Compromises  of  1850, 
confirmed  by  both  the  Democratic  and  Whig  parties  in 
national  conventions, — ratified  by  the  people  in  the  electiou 
of  1852, — and  rightly  applied  to  the  organization  of  the 


NATIONAL  CONVENTIONS. 


491 


Territories  in  1854  ; That  by  the  uniform  application  of  this 
democratic  principle  to  the  organization  of  Territories  and  to 
the  admission  of  new  States,  with  or  without  domestic  slavery 
as  they  may  elect,  the  equal  rights  of  all  will  be  preserved 
intact, — the  original  compacts  of  the  Constitution  main- 
tained inviolate, — and  the  perpetuity  and  expansion  of  this 
Union  insured  to  its  utmost  capacity  of  embracing  in  peace 
and  harmony  any  future  American  State  that  may  be  con- 
stituted or  annexed  with  a republican  form  of  government.” 

The  same  year  the  Republican  convention  at  Philadel- 
phia nominated  John  C.  Fremont  for  President,  and  William 
L.  Dayton  for  Vice-President,  and  adopted  the  following 
as  its  platform  on  slavery. 

“ Resolved,  That,  with  our  republican  fathers,  who,  when 
they  had  abolished  slavery  in  all  our  national  territory, 
ordained  that  no  person  shall  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty, 
or  property,  without  due  process  of  law,  it  becomes  our 
duty  to  maintain  this  provision  of  the  Constitution  against 
all  attempts  to  violate  it,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
slavery  in  the  United  States,  by  positive  legislation  pro- 
hibiting its  existence  or  extension  therein. 

“ Resolved,  That  we  deny  the  authority  of  Congress,  of  a 
territorial  legislature,  or  any  individual  or  association  of 
individuals,  to  give  legal  existence  to  slavery  in  any  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States,  while  the  present  Constitution 
shall  be  maintained. 

Resolved,  That  the  Constitution  confers  upon  Congress 
sovereign  power  over  the  territories  of  the  United  States, 
for  their  government;  and  that,  in  the  exercise  of  this 
power,  it  is  both  the  duty  and  right  of  Congress  to  prohibit 
in  the  territories  those  twin  relies  of  barbarism — polygamy 
and  slavery.” 

The  American  convention  nominated  Millard  Fillmore 
for  President,  and  Andrew  J.  Donelson  for  Vice-President, 


492 


NATIONAL  CONVENTIONS. 


and  adopted,  in  substance,  the  principles  of  the  compro- 
mise measures  of  1850,  as  their  platform  on  slavery. 

In  1860,  the  Constitutional  Union  party,  at  Baltimore, 
nominated  John  Bell  for  President,  and  Edward  Everett 
for  Vice-President,  adopting  “ the  Constitution  and  en- 
forcement of  the  laws”  as  a platform. 

The  Republican  convention,  at  Chicago,  nominated 
Abraham  Lincoln  for  President,  and  Hannibal  Hamlin  for 
Vice-President,  and  adopted  the  following  resolutions  on 
slavery  : 

“ Resolved,  That  the  new  dogma  that  the  Constitution, 
of  its  own  force,  carries  slavery  into  any  or  all  the  terri- 
tories of  the  United  States,  is  a dangerous  political  heresy, 
at  variance  with  the  explicit  provisions  of  that  instrument 
itself,  with  contemporaneous  exposition,  and  with  legislative 
and  judicial  precedent,  is  revolutionary  in  its  tendency,  and 
subversive  of  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the  country. 

“Resolved,  That  the  normal  condition  of  all  the  territory 
of  the  United  States  is  that  of  freedom  ; that  as  our  repub- 
lican fathers,  when  they  had  abolished  slavery  in  all  our 
national  territory,  ordained  that  no  person  should  be  de- 
prived of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of 
law,  it  becomes  our  duty,  by  legislation,  whenever  sue! 
legislation  is  necessary,  to  maintain  this  provision  of  the 
Constitution  against  all  attempts  to  violate  it ; and  we 
deny  the  authority  of  Congress,  of  a territorial  legislature, 
or  of  any  individuals,  to  give  legal  existence  to  slavery  ip 
any  territory  of  the  United  States. 

“Resolved,  That  we  brand  the  recent  re-opening  of  th< 
African  slave  trade,  under  the  cover  of  our  national  flag 
aided  by  perversions  of  judicial  power,  as  a crime  agains* 
humanity,  a burning  shame  to  our  country  and  age,  and  wa 
call  upon  Congress  to  take  prompt  and  efficient  measures 
for  the  total  and  final  suppression  of  that  execrable  traffic." 


NATIONAL  CONVENTIONS. 


493 


The  Democratic  convention  met  at  Charleston  on  the 
18th  of  April.  After  a session  of  nearly  two  weeks, 
toward  the  close  of  which  most  of  the  delegates  from 
eight  southern  States  left  the  convention,  an  adjournment 
to  meet  at  Baltimore,  on  the  18th  of  June,  was  agreed 
upon.  The  convention  met,  pursuant  to  adjournment,  at 
Baltimore,  and  on  the  23d  of  June,  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 
of  Illinois,  was  nominated  for  President,  and  Benjamin 
Fitzpatrick,  of  Alabama,  for  Yice-President.  The  follow- 
ing resolutions  were  adopted.  Excepting  the  last  one, 
these  resolutions  were  passed  at  Charleston  : 

“Besolved,  That  we,  the  Democracy  of  the  Dnion,  in 
convention  assembled,  hereby  declare  our  affirmation  of  the 
resolutions  unanimously  adopted  and  declared  as  a plat- 
form of  principles  by  the  Democratic  convention  at  Cincin 
nati,  in  the  year  1856,  believing  that  Democratic  principles 
are  unchangeable  in  their  nature  when  applied  to  the  same 
subject  matter,  and  we  recommend  as  our  only  further  reso- 
lutions, the  following  : 

“Besolved,  That  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Cincinnati  platform,  that  during  the  existence 
of  Territorial  governmeut,  the  measure  of  restriction,  what- 
ever it  may  be,  imposed  by  the  federal  Constitution,  or  the 
power  of  the  Territorial  legislature,  over  the  subject  of  the 
domestic  relations,  (as  the  same  has  been  or  shall  hereafter 
be  finally  determined  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,)  should  be  respected  by  all  good  citizens,  and  en- 
forced with  promptness  and  fidelity  by  every  branch  of  the 
general  government. 

“ Besolved , That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  United  States  to 
afford  ample  and  complete  protection  to  all  its  citizens,  at 
home  or  abroad,  and  whether  native  or  foreign  born. 

“ Besolved , That  one  of  the  necessities  of  the  age,  in  a 
military,  commercial  and  postal  point  of  view,  is  speedy 
communication  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  States, 


494 


NATIONAL  CONVENTIONS. 


and  the  Democratic  party  pledge  such  constitutional  enact- 
ment as  will  insure  the  construction  of  a railroad  to  the 
Pacific  coast  at  the  earliest  practicable  period. 

“ Resolved , That  the  Democratic  party  are  in  favor  of  the 
acquisition  of  the  island  of  Cuba,  on  such  terms  as  shall  be 
honorable  to  ourselves  and  just  to  Spain. 

“ Resolved , That  the  enactments  of  State  legislatures  to 
defeat  the  faithful  execution  of  the  fugitive  slave  law,  are 
hostile  in  character,  subversive  of  the  Constitution,  and 
revolutionary  in  their  effect. 

Previous  to  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Douglas,  a secession 
of  about  one  hundred,  both  of  Northern  and  Southern 
delegates,  took  place,  who  immediately  met  in  Convention, 
and  nominated  John  C.  Breckenridge,  of  Kentucky,  for 
President,  and  Joseph  Lane,  of  Oregon,  for  Vice-President. 
This  convention  adopted  the  following  platform,  which 
is  the  same  as  adopted  by  the  seceding  delegates  at 
Charleston  : 

“Resolved,  That  the  platform  adopted  by  the  Demo- 
cratic party  at  Cincinnati  be  affirmed,  with  the  following 
explanatory  resolutions  : 

“ First — That  the  government  of  a Territory  organized  by 
an  act  of  Congress,  is  provisional  and  temporary,  and  dur- 
ing its  existence  all  citizens  of  the  United  States  have  an 
equal  right  to  settle  with  their  property  in  the  Territory, 
without  their  rights,  either  of  person  or  property,  being  de- 
stroyed or  injured  by  congressional  or  territorial  legis- 
lation. 

“ Second — That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  federal  government, 
in  all  its  departments,  to  protect  the  rights  of  persons  and 
property  in  the  Territories,  and  wherever  else  its  constitu- 
tional authority  extends. 

“ Third — That  when  the  settlers  in  a Territory  having  an 
adequate  population,  form  a State  Constitution,  the  right 
of  sovereignty  commences,  and,  being  consummated  by 


NATIONAL  CONVENTIONS. 


495 

their  admission  into  the  Union,  they  stand  on  an  equality 
with  the  people  of  other  States,  and  a State  thus  organized 
ought  to  be  admitted  into  the  federal  Union,  whether  its 
constitution  prohibits  or  recognizes  the  institution  of 
slavery. 

Resolved,  That  the  Democratic  party  are  in  favor  of  the 
acquisition  of  the  island  of  Cuba,  on  such  terms  as  shall 
be  honorable  to  ourselves  and  just  to  Spain,  at  the  earliest 
practicable  moment. 

“Unsolved,  That  the  enactments  of  State  legislatures  to 
defeat  the  faithful  execution  of  the  fugitive  slave  law,  are 
hostile  in  character,  subversive  of  the  Constitutor,  and 
revolutionary  in  their  effect. 

“Resolved,  That  the  Democracy  of  the  United  States 
recognize  it  as  the  imperative  duty  of  this  government  to 
protect  the  naturalized  citizen  in  all  his  right3,  whether  at 
home  or  in  foreign  lands,  to  the  same  extent  as  its  native 
born  citizens. 

“ Whereas,  One  of  the  greatest  necessities  of  the  age, 
in  a political,  commercial,  postal  and  military  point  of  view, 
is  a speedy  communication  between  the  Pacific  and  Atlantic 
coasts  ; therefore,  be  it 

“ Resolved , That  the  national  Demociatic  party  do  hereby 
pledge  themselves  to  use  every  means  in  their  power  to  se- 
cure the  passage  of  some  bill,  to  the  extent  of  their  consti- 
tutional authority,  by  Congress,  for  the  construction  of  a 
Pacific  railroad  from  the  Mississippi  river  to  the  Pacific 
ocean,  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment. 

Mr.  Fitzpatrick  refusing  to  accept  the  nomination  for 
Vice-President  with  Mr.  Douglas,  the  National  Committee 
placed  the  name  of  Herschel  V.  Johnson,  of  Georgia,  upon 
the  ticket  in  his  stead. 


\ 


/ 


Date  Due 


r 

Library  Bureau 

Cat.  no.  1137 

MM 


W'  U • 


C4S' 


. — 1 -TkJ  vJ  O 


■ 

■5-^-ter  a m.  V»J  vra 


'■  - - : 


ISSUED  TO 


‘P  o^r: 

f W 4 * <_ 


C48? 


